Crypto platform Binance ceases operations in Ontario amid new regulations The Globe and Mail

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Lori Stein

June 30, 2021

Cryptocurrency trading platform Binance informed account holders last week in a blog post that it will cease operations in Ontario after choosing not to list as a regulated exchange with the Ontario Securities Commission. Binance advised Ontario-based users to close their accounts by the end of this year.

In a recent article, Globe and Mail capital markets reporter Vanmala Subramaniam writes that Binance’s announcement comes as global regulators increasingly scrutinize the burgeoning crypto economy. On Monday, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority banned a UK-based Binance subsidiary called Binance Market Ltd. from failing to register with the regulator as required. The Japanese securities regulator also recently warned Binance to cease operations there for not yet registering with the authorities, and in the United States, the Securities Exchange Commission is investigating Binance Holdings, a Binance entity, regarding money laundering and tax irregularities.

Subramaniam spoke with Lori Stein, partner in Osler’s Digital Assets and Blockchain group, to get a glimpse of Binance’s announcement in Ontario.

Lori suggests that Binance may have decided that the size of the Ontario crypto market did not justify the costs of complying with the province’s regulations.

“This presents an opportunity for Canada-based crypto trading platforms coming into compliance to serve clients who have been displaced by the Binance shutdown,” she said.

A local platform, Wealthsimple Crypto from financial services firm Wealthsimple, received approval from regulators last week to start offering 14 new tokens in addition to bitcoin and ether.

Since the Canadian Securities Administrators announced in late March that crypto exchanges were to begin registering with regulators by April 21, at least 48 platforms had done so in Ontario. However, three other platforms could be subject to execution by the Ontario Securities Commission for failing to comply with the warning.

If you have a Globe and Mail subscription, you can find out more by reading Vanmala Subramaniam’s full article, “Binance Crypto Platform Cuts Operations in Ontario Amid New Regulations,” published June 28, 2021.

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