World’s Biggest Crypto Exchange Binance Banned By UK Financial Regulator

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, from conducting any “regulated activity” in the country. This is the latest blow against cryptocurrency, which is under increasing pressure from governments across the world.

According to the BBC, the FCA declared that Binance Markets Limited (BML), which is owned by the larger Binance Group, isn’t allowed to engage in regulated activities in the country without written permission from the authority.

The emphasis on “regulated activities” is important as well as potentially confusing because the FCA doesn’t regulate cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or ether – so people can still use the Binance website to buy and sell those.

However, the FCA does regulate some cryptoasset derivatives (like futures contracts) as well as cryptoassets it considers “securities”. In those cases, the ban is in effect. The authority also issued an advisory against online ads “promising high returns on investments in cryptoasset or cryptoasset-related products.”

Binance reportedly told the BBC that the FCA’s announcement has no “direct impact” on the services it offers through its website. “BML is a separate legal entity and does not offer any products or services via the Binance.com website,” said a company spokesperson.

Notwithstanding the details, the development does reflect increasing institutional hostility towards cryptocurrency across the globe. China, for example, has recently cracked down on both crypto trading and mining.

Didi (China's Grab) banned in China

China’s cyberspace regulator ordered app stores to remove Didi Chuxing, dealing a major blow to a ride-hailing giant that just days ago pulled off one of the largest U.S. initial public offerings of the past decade.

The Cyberspace Administration of China announced the ban Sunday, citing serious violations on Didi Global Inc.’s collection and usage of personal information, without elaborating. That unusually swift decision came two days after the regulator said it was starting a cybersecurity review of the company.

That effectively requires the largest app stores in China, operated by the likes of Apple Inc. and smartphone makers Huawei Technologies Co. and Xiaomi Corp., to strike Didi from their offerings. But the current half-billion or so users can continue to order up rides and other services so long as they downloaded the app before Sunday’s order.

The surprise probe and rapid decision by China’s powerful internet regulator piles on the scrutiny of Didi over issues ranging from antitrust to data security. The company has been grappling with a broad antitrust probe into Chinese internet firms with uncertain outcomes for Didi and peers like major backer Tencent Holdings Ltd. It lost as much as 11% of its market value at one point on Friday, after the watchdog revealed its investigation.

More broadly, Beijing has been curbing the growing influence of China’s largest internet corporations, widening an effort to tighten the ownership and handling of troves of information that online powerhouses from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to Tencent and Didi scoop up daily from hundreds of millions of users. The regulator on Sunday ordered Didi to rectify its problems following legal requirements and national standards, and take steps to protect the personal information of its users.

Cryptocurrency Mining Banned In More China Provinces As Crackdown Continues

Cryptocurrency mining is being banned in more regions across China as provincial authorities follow the central government’s lead in cracking down on the digital currencies.

China’s northwestern province of Qinghai and a district in Xinjiang recently ordered cryptocurrency mining operations to shut down, Reuters said citing government notices.

A separate Reuters report said that authorities in China’s southwestern Yunnan province were probing the misuse of electricity by bitcoin miners. The news agency based that information on a report by the Science and Technology Innovation Express News.

Xinjiang is China’s largest bitcoin mining hub while Yunnan is the fourth-biggest. Qinghai is ranked ninth, Reuters said citing data compiled by the University of Cambridge. The rising Asian power has long held the crown for bitcoin mining – according to one study, over 75% of global bitcoin mining took place there as of April last year.

Now, Beijing seems very eager to change that. Banks and payment firms have been banned from offering cryptocurrency-related services. Authorities are aggressively pursuing those who use cryptocurrencies to launder money gained from illegal schemes. And then, of course, you have these provincial- and district-level crackdowns on cryptomining.

Are cryptocurrency’s days in China numbered? While the economic superpower’s rejection of cryptocurrencies is certainly notable, it hasn’t deterred smaller countries like El Salvador from embracing bitcoin. China itself is looking to launch its own (central bank-backed) digital currency.