• At the weekend, Binance confirmed that it will be exiting Canada, citing new stablecoin and investor limits in the country.
• Binance said it was working with regulators over the new guidance, but could not find a suitable solution.
• The cryptocurrency exchange is now in the process of contacting its Canadian users about what steps to take moving forward.

Over the weekend cryptocurrency exchange Binance made a significant announcement regarding its operations in Canada. This as the company has now chosen to exit the North American country, following new guidelines that were published in February.

Binance said it had hoped to work with regulators in Canada regarding the new guidance, but after a few weeks of back and forth, could not reach a suitable solution.

“Unfortunately, today we are announcing that Binance will be joining other prominent crypto businesses in proactively withdrawing from the Canadian marketplace,” it confirmed in a tweet from its official account.

“We had high hopes for the rest of the Canadian blockchain industry. Unfortunately, new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges makes the Canada market no longer tenable for Binance at this time,” it added.

The aforementioned guidance, which came from the Canadian Securities Administration (CSA), outlined far stricter rules when it came to cryptocurrencies operating in the country. It required, for example, that CSA approval be sought before allowing users to deposit or buy stablecoins.

The CSA also told crypto exchanges that they had 30 days to comply with its new guidance, or be forced to leave Canada.

While Binance has not completely shut the door to operating in Canada once again, for now it is continuing with its exit, with existing customers being informed of how to proceed.

“Our remaining Canadian users are receiving an email with comprehensive information on how this will impact their accounts going forward. While we do not agree with the new guidance, we hope to continue to engage with Canadian regulators aimed at a thoughtful, comprehensive regulatory framework. We are confident that we will someday return to the market when Canadian users once again have the freedom to access a broader suite of digital assets,” Binance’s statement concluded.

As we know, the exchange has faced increasing scrutiny in North America, so it will be interesting to see whether other regulators in the region will follow Canada’s stricter stance, especially after the fallout of recent incidents like the FTX collapse.

[Image – Photo by sebastiaan stam on Unsplash]