Binance announces exit from Canada

• Binance says new guidance on stablecoins has made it untenable to continue operating in the country.
• New rules required exchanges to seek approval before allowing their customers to buy or deposit stablecoins.
• The exchange says it will continue to engage regulators even if it doesn’t agree with new guidance.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has announced its exit from Canada.

The crypto platform revealed its move on Friday, noting that the decision was down to new guidelines that make the Canadian market “no longer tenable” for its operations.

“We had high hopes for the rest of the Canadian blockchain industry. Unfortunately, new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges makes the Canada market no longer tenable for Binance at this time,” the exchange said in a tweeted statement.

The crypto exchange giant said it had “put off this decision as long as [it] could to explore other reasonable avenues to protect [its] Canadian users.” However, it’s joining other platforms to withdraw from the market after the latest regulatory move.

“While we do not agree with the new guidance, we hope to continue to engage with Canadian regulators aimed at a thoughtful, comprehensive regulatory framework,” Binance wrote.

The question of regulatory clarity

Binance is a major crypto industry player that has sought regulatory approval in most of the jurisdictions that it offers its services. It has also been one of the main advocates of more regulatory clarity across the globe. 

But its decision to exit Canada comes a few months after the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) outlined new guidance regarding stablecoins.

The February communication had asked crypto trading platforms operating in the country to seek approval before allowing customers to use stablecoins on their platforms. This included buying or depositing stablecoins, a requirement that meant further due diligence checks for exchanges amid the tightening regulatory scrutiny.