It appears Binance has tucked its tail between its legs again when it comes to servicing customers in Ontario. After initially sending a mass email to its customers last week indicating that they have obtained the required licensing, the firm has now issued a “correction” on the matter.
The correction released late Friday by the crypto exchange relates to a notice that they provided earlier in the week, stating that they will be resuming services in Canada’s most populous province after having registered as a Money Service Business with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, or FINTRAC. Within the notice, they rescinded a prior comment wherein they had told Ontario residents that they would be required to close their accounts by December 31, 2021.
This announcement by Binance however was quickly shut down by the Ontario Securities Commission, whom slammed the firm for the “unacceptable” announcement. Binance allegedly did not notify the OSC of the announcement being made, nor have they or any entity related to them received the necessary approvals from the provincial regulator to provide such services to consumers. The kicker, is that Binance had stated the changes were “as a result of ongoing and positive cooperation with Canadian regulators,” despite the OSC indicating that nothing had changed with the firms status in the province.
In addressing the response of the OSC, Binance tucked its tail between its legs, stating, “The OSC’s press release on December 30, 2021 confirmed to the public that no entity in the Binance group of companies holds any form of securities registration in Ontario and that Binance issued its notice to Ontario users without any notification to the OSC. We confirm that both of these statements are correct.“
Instead, it appears that the notice was simply “intended to communicate that Binance had decided to actively pursue registration in Canada,” with the message not intended to indicate users were permitted to trade on the platform again. This, of course, is despite the firm directly stating, “this registration allows us to continue our operations in Canada and resume business in Ontario.“
Going forward, as it turns out, Ontario consumers are still not able to open Binance accounts or trade on the platform, and the firm will not market to Ontario consumers. Further, the company has indicated it won’t issue further notices to these consumers “without advance consultation with the OSC.”
In short, nothing has changed for Ontario consumers, except Binance might have to fight even harder get approved to operate in the province of Ontario again.
Information for this briefing was found via Binance. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
