Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, has informed the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) that it will stop opening new accounts for residents of Ontario and wind down certain services in order to comply with regulations.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance sent a letter to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) Wednesday.
In the letter, Binance listed a few commitments to the OSC, including “ceasing opening new Ontario accounts,” “ceasing trading in existing Ontario accounts, with exceptions to protect investors, along with winding down its businesses in certain products,” and “providing fee waivers and offering fee reimbursement to certain Ontario users.”
In addition, Binance will also make reports to OSC staff and retain an independent third party to ensure the effectiveness of its efforts to implement its commitments.
Binance decided to withdraw its services from Ontario in June 2021. The exchange told Ontario users in the same month that they will need to close all active positions by Dec. 31, 2021.
Binance detailed in its letter that on Dec. 31 last year:
Binance confirmed to Staff that the trading restrictions were in place for Ontario accounts, and would remain so, including (a) no trading by existing Ontario users, (b) no new Ontario users, and (c) no marketing targeted at Ontario users.
However, on Dec. 29, Binance notified Ontario users that it was allowed to continue its operations in Ontario. The Canadian regulator said at the time: “Binance has issued a notice to users, without any notification to the OSC, rescinding this commitment. This is unacceptable.” Binance has acknowledged this announcement was not correct.
Binance acknowledged in its letter that “Despite the representations made to [OSC] staff and investors, Ontario investors were able to continue to trade after the restrictions were supposedly in place.”
In addition, Binance admitted that its customer service team “tweeted inaccurate information, informing an Ontario user that they could trade after January 1, 2022, as normal if their account was already open, which Binance now acknowledges was not correct.”
Binance has informed the regulator that it is committed to pursuing a regulatory path to ensure compliance with Ontario securities law.
