Binance has informed the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) that it would no longer be accepting new customers from the Canadian province of Ontario. This means that no new account will be opened for users who identify as being from Ontario.
The crypto industry’s largest exchange has also said that it will stop trading for current Ontario-based accounts and will offer cost waivers and reimbursements to some consumers.
These commitments, which were given to the OSC here, are supported by Binance’s admission of the reality of the exchange’s operations in Ontario.
After “allegedly putting in place” limitations, the exchange confirmed that Ontario investors were able to continue trading on its platform.
Binance‘s promise to the OSC is significant because it provides a “legally enforceable” commitment from the exchange to the regulator in the future.
“Binance has made a legally enforceable promise to the OSC with this undertaking.” The OSC said in a statement yesterday that it “reserves the right to take enforcement action against Binance for any past, present, or future breaches of Ontario securities law not originating from the events outlined in the undertaking.”
Binance’s relationship with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)
Binance said in June 2021 that it would cease operations in Ontario. Users were warned by the exchange that they needed to cancel active positions by December 31, 2021.
However, on December 29, 2021, the exchange notified local users that it had been granted permission to continue operating in the Canadian province. The exchange “now accepts that was not right,” according to Binance’s promise to the OSC.
The OSC said that no company in the Binance group of firms was registered to trade securities in the province. “This remains the case,” the OSC said in a statement released yesterday.
According to Binance’s assurance to the OSC, the exchange acknowledged to the regulator that trading limits for Ontario accounts were in place on December 31, 2021. The exchange also informed Ontario users on January 1, 2022, that trading access and new onboarding were banned.
Binance also claimed that its customer service team “tweeted erroneous information,” informing an Ontario user that “if their account was already open, they could trade as usual after January 1, 2022.”
The exchange also admits that this is incorrect.
