Binance is feeling the heat in Canada. The crypto exchange was rebuked by the Ontario Securities Commission for telling users that it was allowed to continue operations in the country.
The regulator said it was unacceptable. It said Binance has issued a notice to users without consulting the Ontario Securities Commission. However, Binance said the platform has successfully taken steps on the regulator’s path. The exchange says it has registered in Canada. As such, it claims that registration gives it the right to operate in the country.
Binance told its users that with the ongoing positive cooperation with Canadian authorities, users in Ontario don’t have to close their accounts by December 31, 2021.
However, the Ontario Securities Commission in a statement said “Binance is not registered in Ontario”. This has sent mixed signals to the exchange’s users. The regulator said it is unacceptable. The statement emphasized that no entity in the Binance group of companies holds any form of securities registration in Ontario. It said the exchange had committed to ensuring that no new transactions would be carried out on its platform after December 31. As such, the regulator pointed out that Binance’s correspondence to users invalidates that commitment.
Binance defended the platform saying there has been “some miscommunication”. The exchange said it had not directly met the Ontario Securities Commission. Binance added that they are “correcting that error”. Binance will provide updated guidance to its users in Ontario soon.
Presently, there are six crypto exchanges registered with the Ontario Securities Commission. The platforms are Netcoins, Coinsmart, Wealthsimple, Coinberry, Bitbuy and Fidelity.
