The largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the world has announced that it will wind down its Canadian operations, two years after receiving the green light to operate in the country.
Binance attributed the move to recent amendments to local legislation that affect the purchase and deposit of stablecoins on exchanges.
- Binance announced on Twitter its decision to proactively withdraw from the Canadian market, joining other crypto businesses.
- The exchange acknowledged the Canadian market as small but “sentimental,” as it intended to continue operating in the country. However, Canadian Securities Administrators’ recent decision hinders its operations.
- In February, the CSA issued new guidelines requiring local exchanges to obtain its permission before accepting stablecoin deposits or allowing users to purchase such assets, subjecting them to multiple due diligence tests and a lengthy process.
“We put off this decision as long as we could to explore other reasonable avenues to protect our Canadian users, but it has become apparent that there are none.”
- Despite some traditional financial institutions investing in the industry and Canada approving one of the first spot Bitcoin ETFs years ago, the recent policy shift has harmed several exchanges, including Crypto.com.
- Binance has recently received licenses to operate in Dubai, various European countries, Kazakhstan, and Japan, being on an expansion break for the past few months.
