Crypto exchange Binance to halt sterling transfers

By Elizabeth Howcroft and Tom Wilson

LONDON (Reuters) -Binance is halting its sterling deposits and withdrawals, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday, a month after the crypto exchange ceased dollar transfers.

Binance has been informed by its partner for sterling transfers, Paysafe, that it would halt its services from May 22, the spokesperson said, impacting all Binance customers.

Sterling transfers for new users were stopped on Monday, it said.

“Binance will ensure that affected users are still able to access their GBP balances,” the spokesperson said, adding that the change “affects less than 1% of Binance users”.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto platforms with more than 128 million customers, did not give detail on the number of clients the move would impact.

Paysafe did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. The company offers the service via UK payments network Faster Payments, which also had no immediate comment.

The cessation of sterling transfers, first reported by crypto news outlet The Block, comes after Binance last month suspended all dollar bank transfers amid a growing crackdown on crypto by U.S. authorities.

A spokesperson for Skrill, the Paysafe unit that works with Binance, told crypto website Decrypt that “the UK regulatory environment in relation to crypto is too challenging to offer this service at this time and so this is a prudent decision on our part taken in an abundance of caution.”

Britain’s financial watchdog said last year that it lacked powers to stop Binance from accessing the Faster Payments network via PaySafe.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority warned consumers in June 2021 that Binance did no hold “any form” of permission to offer services regulated by Britain.

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