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The Changpeng Zhao-led Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volumes and client count, will launch a fiat-supported platform in the UK to cater to growing retail and institutional investors in the next few weeks reports Reuters, on June 17, 2020.
Up To 65 Digital Assets to Be Supported
Scheduled for launch this summer, the platform will be regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and offer support for Euros and GBP fiat currencies.
These currencies will be paired with some of the 65 digital currencies that may be offered by the exchange.
Users will connect their bank accounts with the trading platform while conveniently exchanging cryptocurrencies of their choice. This way, they can deposit and withdraw at will through the UK’s Faster Payments Service and Europe’s Single Euro Payments Area network.
Binance UK to Cater to Investors’ Needs
Binance is realigning its objectives by diversifying and offering services for retail and institutional-grade investors.
Teana Baker-Taylor, the Binance UK Director, told Reuters that the number, depth, and breath of participants has increased over the years.
“Interest and participation in the UK digital asset markets is growing; not just in-depth with its current participants, but also in breadth. As crypto services mature and evolve, we’re able to create new options to engage and capture interest from a wider audience with varying risk appetites, such as products that earn a yield for participation, like staking and passive savings.”
Year-to-date, the number of institutional investors rose by 47.4 percent confirming a parallel finding by a Fidelity investment Survey that a majority of institutions are exploring digital assets with some already invested.
In Q1 2020, Teana revealed, institutional trading volumes on Binance’s spot trading platform rose by 113 percent while Futures’ volumes more than doubled in the same period.
FCA: Crypto Trading Is Risky
Trading cryptocurrencies is legal in the UK. However, the FCA has maintained a cautious stance clearly stating their volatile nature coupled with retail investors’ patchy understanding makes them “risky”.
In guidance released to the public in July 2019, the FCA didn’t alter their regulatory landscape but instead specified when certain crypto products would squarely fall under their categories.
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), two of the most valuable coins by market caps, are classified as “exchange tokens” and aren’t regulated. However, AML and ATF rules apply.
On April 27, Binance launched a crypto and Bitcoin mining pool dedicated to empowering global miners.