Ontario regulator flags Binance for lack of registration

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) stated that Binance lacked a licence. This was the regulator’s response to the company’s recent announcement.

On December 29 the platform announced that it was cooperating with regulators and would resume operations in the region. Binance representatives confirmed to The Block the authenticity of the statement.

The OSC called it unacceptable and stressed that the exchange is not registered in Ontario.

“Binance presented to OSC staff the situation that after December 31, 2021 no new transactions involving Ontario residents would take place. Binance issued a user notice without any OSC notice of revocation of this obligation,” the press release said.

According to the Commission, six platforms are registered in Ontario for trading crypto assets, and the regulator said it remained open to dialogue with firms that had received notices of non-registration.

A Binance spokesperson later told The Block that there was a misunderstanding.

“We did not meet directly with the Ontario Securities Commission about our intentions, which was clearly an error we are correcting. We will provide users with updated instructions in the near future,” he said.

In March the OSC said that firms dealing in digital assets must register as investment dealers.

In May the regulator filed suit against the cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex. The regulator contends that the platform provided services for unregistered trading of stocks and derivatives.

In June the Commission charged companies associated with the cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin with violations of securities laws.

In June, Binance warned that it would not be able to service users in Ontario and urged them to close all active positions by 31 December 2021.

Subscribe to ForkLog news on VK!