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Binance to halt futures accounts in Hong Kong following regulatory warnings
- Four-year-old start-up said in July it wants to become a ‘financial institution’
- Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission issued warning in July about Binance
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Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said on Friday that it would no longer allow new users to open futures accounts in Hong Kong after regulators in the city issued a warning about its services last month.
Existing users in Hong Kong would have a 90-day period to close their positions, Binance said. After that, no new positions can be opened, the company said.
“As the market leader, Binance constantly evaluates its product and service offerings,” the company said in an announcement on its website. “We will be restricting Hong Kong users in respect of derivatives products (including all futures, options, margin products and leveraged tokens) in line with our commitment to compliance.”
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The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a warning in July stating that Binance was not licensed or registered to offer securities, which is a regulated activity in the city. The SFC was referring to Binance tokens based on stocks such as Apple and Tesla, which were being marketed to investors in Hong Kong, as reported by the Post in April. Binance took down the business the same day.
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Is cryptocurrency too risky for China?
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Binance said it was the first major cryptocurrency and digital assets exchange to proactively restrict access to derivatives products in the city.
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