Binance wants to continue to establish a presence in the U.K. and serve U.K. users in a fully licensed and fully compliant manner.
UK Aim
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trade volume has faced heat from regulators worldwide. Different regulators including U.K’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It has been tightening its grip around the cryptocurrency in a bid to eliminate bad elements. Nevertheless, Binance’s chief executive Changpeng Zhao remains undeterred from his crypto-centric narrative.
Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s chief executive said the company will reapply for a Financial Conduct Authority licence in comments to The Sunday Telegraph. Zhao said that the exchange’s relations with UK regulators had improved since Binance received a public dressing down over Summer.
To become a registered crypto asset firm in the U.K., the platform must abide by money laundering and terrorist financing controls. To meet these requirements, Zhao indicated the company was considering setting up a specific company to run in the U.K. — similar to its Binance.US subsidiary.
CZ Quotes
CZ told to The Telegraph: “We’re fully re-engaged there. We’re making a number of very substantial changes in organisational structures, product offerings, our internal processes, and the way we work with regulators. We want to continue to establish a presence in the UK and serve UK users in a fully licensed and fully compliant manner.” CZ added, confirming that Binance hopes to become a registered crypto asset firm, which requires abiding by money laundering and terrorist financing controls, in six to 18 months.
Also in comments to The Telegraph Zhao insisted that Binance is changing. “When [regulators] asked us a very simple question: ‘Where’s your headquarters?’ and our response was that we have no headquarters, that we’re a decentralised organisation, they didn’t know how to work with us. We understand that now. So now we’re in the process of setting up real offices, legal entities, a proper board, proper governance structures in most places, including the UK.”
