Binance pulls out of Canada, cites incompatibility with local market conditions

On Friday, May 12, Binance announced its departure from the Canadian markets.

Posting on Twitter, the world’s largest exchange by client count, attributed its decision to Canada’s new stablecoin guidance and investor limits for crypto exchanges. A stablecoin is a privately issued cryptocurrency pegged to stable assets, mostly fiat currencies like CAD or the USD.

Binance’s exit from the Canadian market aligns with the actions taken by the Canadian Securities Administrators, which required crypto asset trading platforms to register with them by March 23.

Failing to meet the “pre-registration requirements” by the deadline resulted in the cessation of operations for crypto trading firms.

The Canadian agency also instructed exchanges to adhere to crypto custody segregation, appoint a chief compliance officer, and suspend the sale and custody of stablecoins.

In an email to Canadian users, the platform shares that despite high hopes for the Canadian blockchain industry, “new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges make the Canada market no longer tenable for Binance at this time.”

They also ask “existing Canadian customers to close any open positions by September 30, 2023.”

Following the lead of other major players

Several cryptocurrency companies, including OKX, Paxos, and dYdX, have recently withdrawn from the Canadian market, pointing to the regulatory environment as a significant factor behind their decisions.

Last year, Bittrex also pulled out of Canada, mainly attributing its departure to regulatory concerns.

This development may lead to fewer crypto asset trading platforms in Canada, slowing down the growth of the industry in the country.

In response to a tweet about this news, Kraken Exchange, a platform that has been around since 2011, said they “are still committed to Canada.”