Binance To No Longer Service Ontarians Following OSC Crackdown On Crypto Exchanges

It appears that the writing might finally be on the wall for the use of crypto as a “currency”. Yesterday, Binance quietly announced that as part of “compliance efforts” that they would be exiting from the province of Ontario, Canada. The changes were posted under a “Terms of Use Review” published by the firm on their website.

More specifically, the company put out a notice yesterday stating that the province of Ontario, Canada has become a “restricted jurisdiction effective 2021-06-26 at 3:59:59 AM (UTC).” What this means, is that trading on the exchange will no longer be available for Ontarians, with the company stating, “Regrettably, Binance can no longer continue to service Ontario-based users.”

Current users have until December 31, 2021, to close out all active positions, with the company stating that users based in Ontario are advised to take “immediate measures.”

The change in service is notable for Canadians, given that Ontario makes up roughly 38% of the country’s population. The change in service is believed to be in relation to a crackdown on crypto exchanges by the Ontario Securities Commission. Notably, the OSC is simply looking to bring exchanges into compliance with Canadian securities legal guidelines – meaning that Binance viewed the province as not being worth the effort of shoring up its compliance with regulations.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Commission was cracking down on crypto exchange Kucoin as well, with a report by The Crypto Daily News stating that the OSC simply stated that under new compliance measures, exchanges must register as securities exchanges or effectively go away. It appears that Binance has elected to do the latter.

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.

Jay Lutz

As the founder of The Deep Dive, Jay is focused on all aspects of the firm. This includes operations, as well as acting as the primary writer for The Deep Dive’s stock analysis. In addition to The Deep Dive, Jay performs freelance writing for a number of firms and has been published on Stockhouse.com and CannaInvestor Magazine among others.