Binance to Cease Sterling Withdrawals and Deposits For UK Clients

investopedia.com:

Binance, the world's largest non-custodian crypto exchange, will no longer be able to process withdrawals and deposits for its UK clients after its local banking partner terminated its operating agreement amid chaos in the crypto industry.

Binance said in an email sent to users on March 13 it will no longer be able to process withdrawals and deposits in GBP starting May 22.The company said the change impacts less than 1% of its users, who will still be able to access their balances. Binance told customers that it doesn't affect their accounts and that certain functionalities remained unchanged.

“In the meantime, all methods of depositing and withdrawing other fiat currencies as well as buying and selling crypto on Binance.com remain unaffected, including bank transfer using one of the other fiat currencies supported by Binance, and buying and selling crypto directly via credit or debit card,” a spokesperson told multiple news outlets.

According to Paysafe, the online payment company that banks Binance's GBP transactions, the sudden halt results from the regulatory purview on cryptocurrency. 

“We have concluded 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,” Paysafe said in a statement.

Binance has been in a battle with the regulators in the UK ever since it launched its crypto service in 2020 with no restrictions.

In June 2021, a year after in launched its trading arm in the region, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority warned of Binance’s operation, saying it wasn't “permitted to undertake any regulated activity.” 

That led to the company’s partnership with Paysafe—a UK-regulated