U.S. Customers to be Blocked from Trading on Binance
- Binance.com has updated its Terms of Use agreement, which now state that “Binance is unable to provide services to any U.S. person”.
- The exchange has also announced the launch of a separate, fully regulated fiat to crypto platform for the U.S. market called Binance US.
Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, has updated its terms of use, which now include a restriction of services to individuals and corporations based in the United States, as announced in a blog post today.
The announcement was made in the form of an updated Terms of Use agreement, which now state that “Binance is unable to provide services to any U.S. person”. Traders in the U.S. do not need to panic though, as the exchange recently announced the launch of a separate, fully regulated fiat to crypto platform for the U.S. market, Binance.us. The exchange also provided us with a timeframe in which the new terms will come into effect, the announcement reads:
After 90 days, effective on 2019/09/12 [12th September 2019], users who are not in accordance with Binance’s Terms of Use will continue to have access to their wallets and funds, but will no longer be able to trade or deposit on Binance.com.
Even if some U.S. citizens decide to circumvent the new restriction through the use of VPN (Virtual Private Network), the exchange only allows the withdrawal of up to 2 Bitcoins (BTC) per 24 hours for non-verified users. For larger withdrawals, the user will be required to provide evidence of compliance with the Terms of Use. In todays announcement, the exchange stated that it is constantly reviewing user accounts to improve the security of the platform, and to meet the global compliance requirements. The statement reads:
Accordingly, some users may be required to furnish evidence showing that their account registrations are consistent with Binance’s Terms of Use. Binance regrettably cannot continue to serve users who are found to have violated the Terms of Use and are unable to demonstrate otherwise.
Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) also commented on the evolving structure of the exchange in a tweet:
During CoinDesk’s Consensus Singapore event last September, CZ revealed that Binance is planning to launch five to ten exchanges around the world, two per continent, but did not specify the chosen locations. So far the firm was able to launch platforms in Uganda, Singapore, and Jersey, and is now planning to release one in the USA. The new platform will be established in partnership with BAM Trading Services, a company that has been approved by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The news has been confirmed by BAM Trading Services in a Medium post.
- The popular crypto exchange has decided to sell its business in Russia to CommEX, a crypto exchange business that was officially launched on Tuesday.
- Binance noted that it will fully exit the Russian market, and have no ongoing revenue split or any option to buy back shares in the business.
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- The company said it will be suspending its crypto-backed debit card service in the Middle East on 25 August, and in Latin America by 21 September.
- Although no reason was given for the decision, the company noted that “less than 1% of users” in those regions will be affected by the change.
- A spokesperson said the change was due to the “changing market and user needs”, and that Binance will now be refocusing its resources on its main products and long-term goals.
- Launched in March 2022, Binance Connect helped crypto businesses connect with the traditional finance system, and supported 50 cryptocurrencies and networks such as Visa and Mastercard.