The largest crypto exchange Binance has confirmed to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) that it will cease to open new accounts for users in the Canadian province of Ontario and also stop trading for the existing Ontario-based accounts.
Binance said that it will provide fee waivers and reimbursements to certain users following the decision to stop its operations in the region.
While sending its commitments to the OSC, Binance also made some acknowledgments of the rarity of its operations in Ontario. It confessed that Ontario-based users were able to continue trading on its platform even after restrictions were put in place.
The OSC had yesterday in a statement said:
“This undertaking represents a legally enforceable commitment by Binance to the OSC. The OSC reserves the right to take enforcement action against Binance for any past, present or future breaches of Ontario securities law not arising from the events described in the undertaking.”
The move by Binance came after a series of squabbles with Canadian regulators since summer 2021.
Binance fights with the OSC
Binance had on June 2021 announced that it would stop its operations in Ontario by December 31, but later notified its users on December 29, 2021, that it had been allegedly been allowed to continue operating in the province.
Binance has acknowledged in its undertaking to the OSC that whatever it had indicated on December 21, 2021, was not correct.
In response, the OSC has said that none of the entities of the Binance Group of Companies had any form of securities registrations to operate in the province and that continues to be the case.
Binance had in January this year indicated to its users from Ontario that it would start restricting trading access and new membership.
