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The Binance stand-off shows the limitations of bitcoin

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What good is a bitcoin murder if you can’t afford to steal it?

Customer service Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, is facing this question after one of the UK’s leading payment systems suddenly cut its accounts.

A few days after the Financial Conduct Authority ordered Binance stop all regulated activities In Britain, a digital asset company he stopped it allows its customers to lose pounds through Faster Payments, a service used by high street banks. Bank card transfers were also suspended in pounds.

Binance stressed that the FCA ban does not affect the business and says links are being re-established. Customers can still transfer their stakes to other platforms. But the sudden halt highlights a key issue for the world of cryptocurrencies. With notable exceptions The Savior, no country uses bitcoin as legal tender – and so does Elon Musk he stepped back He intends to accept it as a payment from Teslas. Instead, cryptocurrencies need to find ways to convert them to fiat currency.

There it is rubbed. Regulators who have spent decades in money laundering and terrorist financing are not allowed to allow floods of anonymous digital currency exchange money. The anonymity of Bitcoin and some of its competitors is well known cybercriminals and tax evaders.

Facebook took an initial liking to the potential reaction in 2019 when it announced plans to overturn global payments system with Libra, digital currency. The project encountered a regulatory buzz and has been repeatedly delayed. chopped and even changed the name Diem.

Since then, governments have sparked interest in cryptocurrencies and are much more sophisticated in their approach. Most large central banks are thinking about whether to at least issue their digital currencies, while the guardians of banks and securities have begun to integrate cryptographic platforms into the regulatory network.

Binance’s problems stem from the UK 2020 move, which requires cryptocurrency asset companies register with the FCA and demonstrate compliance with anti-money laundering rules. The caretaker says 90% of registrations are “unprecedented,” among other things Binance’s UK arm, have suspended applications instead of meeting FCA standards.

In Canada, the Ontario Securities Commission has begun taking legal action against unregistered cryptographic exchanges, asking Binance to withdraw. German and U.S. Guardians they also have a crypto platform in sight.

Optimistic cryptocurrencies see all regulatory repression as a positive sign of support maturity. They have a point. Regulatory banks would not assign it high risk weights if some lenders were not starting to stick to digital currencies. The Japan Financial Services Agency would not provide the latter notice of three years of illegal operations If Binance doesn’t continue to attract customers.

But that pink view has a limit. Chinese tightening the price of bitcoin’s production force has sharply indented the price of the most popular cryptocurrency. And elsewhere the study is forcing cryptocurrency providers to rethink their business models.

So far, Binance and other cryptographic platforms have been able to operate with fewer employees and have exercised less control over customers than those around traditional finance. This window of smoothness is almost certain to close, forcing the industry into a difficult choice.

Doing too much testing will drive away early adopters who have driven their rapid growth. But without proper systems and control, the wider attractiveness of the crypto is limited. Coinbase, one of the largest platforms in the world, is a case in point. It was considered an April Nasdaq live list validation for the sector, but shares fell more than 20 percent from the first-day closing price. Investors are concerned that lower bitcoin prices will hurt trading volumes and increase competition and reduce margins.

Just look at how much regulated banks, brokers and exchanges smell like an option. Only on Tuesday, Deutsche Börse said He has bought a Swiss crypto supplier, and announced by Fidelity, Standard Chartered and TP ICAP they came together to launch crypto trading platform.

Cryptocurrency fans can applaud Binance’s anti-authoritarian stance. Most investors want a platform to make their money easily.

brooke.masters@ft.com

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