Binance Suspends Deposit and Withdrawal for Customers in UK

World’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance has suspended both deposits and withdrawals for its customers in the United Kingdom. This was after its UK partner, PaySafe halted support for transactions carried out in British Pounds. 

PaySafe earlier announced that it will stop processing transactions in British Pounds due to British regulators’ stance on digital assets, Investors King learnt. 

It could be recalled that in 2021, Binance temporarily suspended British pound transfers after the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the exchange wasn’t permitted to operate in the country. The exchange however resume bank transfers when it partnered with Paysafe in February 2022. 

Barely after a year since the exchange resumed transactions in GBP, the U.K. Treasury released a consultation paper, introducing a new crypto regulatory framework to regulate crypto activities under the same regime as traditional financial services. A position which has been condemned by several cryptocurrency firms. 

PaySafe disclosed in a blog post that the UK regulatory environment regarding cryptocurrency is very challenging for the fintech firm. It added that it is important for the company to take prudent decisions going forward. 

Reacting to the development, Binance stated it has to stop processing both deposits and withdrawals in British Pounds for new users on the 13th of March while the platform will suspend such transactions for all customers on the 22nd of May. 

The crypto exchange however assured its customers of alternative solutions as soon as practicable. 

“Our team is working hard to find an alternative solution” for users who are impacted by the latest changes”, Binance spokesperson said. 

Meanwhile, as the ongoing turmoil in the banking sector continues to impact the crypto markets, a Gibraltar-based Bank, Xapo has announced it will enable its customers to make crypto payments in British Pounds.

“From today we have also added support for GBP through the Faster Payments network, meaning members will be able to make payments directly to U.K. wallets or banks,” Seamus Rocca, the CEO of Xapo Bank, said in a statement made available to CoinDesk.