Largest Crypto Exchange in the World Locked Out of Ontario

Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world by trade volume, has been barred from doing business in Ontario, Canada.

The announcement follows publication of a Statement of Allegations on June 21, 2021 against Binance by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). Binance is alleged to have marketed unauthorized securities to Canadians and not registered with regulators. Binance chose not to appeal the decision, opting instead to pull its services out of Ontario.

This according to a news update by Coindesk.com.

What is Binance?

Binance is an international cryptocurrency exchange where people can buy, sell, trade, and store cryptocurrencies. It's the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, and even has its own blockchain token called Binance Coin. They provide a number of services to their users, featuring an advanced trading platform that offers different order types like Market Order or Margin Trade. They even offer a free academy website full of educational materials.

Binance's withdrawal from Ontario follows publication of a Statement of Allegations on June 21, 2021 against Binance by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). In all likelihood, crypto enthusiasts will turn to other exchanges like Coinbase and Kucoin. However some may be tempted to sell off their cryptocurrency out of fear that crypto investing may not have a bright future in Canada.

Why was Binance barred from Ontario?

According to the statement of allegations, Binance is alleged to have marketed unauthorized securities to Canadians and not registered with regulators.

Binance will not appeal the decision, choosing instead to pull its services out of Ontario.

It's unclear what this means for Binance in Canada- whether it will withdraw from the country as well or will continue operations remains to be seen. There are no guarantees as the cryptoverse is a common point of contention among governing bodies.

What does this mean for Canadian cryptocurrency traders?

Unless Binance can strike a deal with the Ontario government (which seems unlikely at this point) Canadian cryptocurrency traders based in Ontario will have to look for alternatives.

For now, Binance is still available to many other countries and supports a variety of digital currencies - though Canadian individuals may be able to find similar services on sites like Coinbase or Kucoin.

Binance has not disclosed what their plans are going forward with regard to the multiple countries that have also recently barred them from their soil. The OSC notice comes on the heels of similar communications sent to Binance by regulatory bodies in Japan and the UK. So far, Binance has consistently handled these issues simply by backing out of the regions in question.

What happens next?

The bans in the UK and Japan saw many crypto investors and enthusiasts flock to other platforms, which led to a surge in volumes of trading on several exchanges.

If the ban extends to all of Canada, it could lead to an increase in activity for other crypto platforms or alternatives as well. However, it is unclear what will happen next since there are many more regulators who have not yet spoken out on the matter.

The effect of crypto bans across different countries may lead to more use of centralized exchanges - which are often seen as having less security compared to decentralized ones because they store all their data in one place rather than spread out over many nodes around the world like Bitcoin's blockchain. This takes precedence due to higher volumes of trading moving there after platforms such as Binance closed down operations in other regions where such restrictions were put into place.

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Originally published at https://www.publish0x.com. Also published at Medium.com.