Binance, the world’s top cryptocurrency exchange, has announced that it will halt operations in Canada.
Users were shocked to learn of the exit, which was revealed in a tweet on Binance’s official Twitter account.
The exchange cited new regulatory guidance as the key cause for its withdrawal from the Canadian Market. According to Binance, Canada recent rules concerning stablecoins and investment limits for cryptocurrency operations. This, according to Binance, rendered it unprofitable to maintain operations in the country.
“Unfortunately, today we are announcing that Binance will be joining other prominent crypto businesses in proactively withdrawing from the Canadian marketplace.”
The exchange also expressed gratitude to the regulators with whom it had cooperated and mentioned that, as the country of its founder, Canada, the Canadian market carried special sentimental significance for the exchange.
“We would like to thank those regulators who worked with us collaboratively to address the needs of Canadian users. Albeit a small market, it held sentimental value for us as the home country of our founder.”
Binance pointed out that the Canadian blockchain and cryptocurrency industries have high expectations for the exchange. It said that while looking for alternative ways to go on business, it put off the decision to shut down its Canadian operations as long as feasible.
“We had high hopes for the rest of the Canadian blockchain industry. Unfortunately, new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges makes the Canadian market no longer tenable for Binance at this time. We put off this decision as long as we could to explore other reasonable avenues to protect our Canadian users, but it has become apparent that there are none.”
Binance’s unexpected exit from the Canadian cryptocurrency market is consistent with a recent pattern in which crypto companies have stopped operating in jurisdictions with negative regulatory environments.
Per Binance’s statement, its Canadian users will get information through email on how the withdrawal would affect their accounts. It also stated that it hoped to collaborate with Canadian authorities more closely in order to develop a framework for regulation that was thorough and well-considered.
The exchange added that it was confident about the Canadian market’s future and hoped to see a recovery as soon as possible.
Several other crypto exchanges have closed or limited their operations in Canada. The majority of them have cited an unfavorable regulatory environment as the cause for their departure.
dYdX stated in April that their decentralized derivatives exchange would no longer be available to Canadian users. dYdX announced that it would discontinue trading support for its customers on April 14, 2023.
OKX has also stated that it intends to close its Canadian operations by the middle of 2023. Unsurprisingly, the exchange cited an unfavorable regulatory environment as the rationale for its decision.
Kraken, on the other hand, has committed itself to abide by Canadian regulation. The exchange and the Ontario Securities Commission both executed pre-registration undertakings (PRUs). The action taken by Kraken demonstrated its dedication to the strict investor protection laws that were amended in February.
News Source: Cryptodaily
