TIDEX CEO, Eric Ma, comments on Binance’s decision to step away from a major fiat currency.
Following pressure from regulators on Binance’s UK partner Paysafe, the cryptocurrency exchange has been forced to suspend withdrawals and deposits for any new customers using British pounds as of Monday March 13th.
Existing customers will have until May 22nd to transact their currency.
Paysafe, which previously facilitated transactions between GBP and Binance’s crypto offerings, cut ties with the Caymans-based exchange. Paysafe cited a challenging crypto regulatory environment in the UK for ceasing their services, saying the decision was taken in an abundance of caution in a statement.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) previously raised concerns about the exchange, stating that the firm is incapable of being properly supervised, according to the watchdog.
Commenting, TIDEX CEO, Eric Ma, said: “This is a perfect example of governments using the unfair tactic of squeezing out crypto companies by putting pressure on banks. Not only is this a setback to crypto companies, but on a grander scale, it’s detrimental to citizens around the world as institutions try to push people further away from attaining financial freedom.”
This comes against the backdrop of the UK government’s plan to regulate the crypto market which was introduced in February. The regulations included strengthening rules for crypto trading platforms like Binance and providing more robust regulation of all crypto asset activities, as well as extending regulatory powers of the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
The UK government has also detailed plans for a digital pound in order to build trust in a digitised financial system. The Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) would essentially be a digital version of the pound for everyday use.
Eric added: “There’s an active transformation taking place in the financial space as we speak. As decentralised finance (DeFi) is designed to cut out centralised institutions such as banks and brokerages, these institutions are looking to regulators for help in protecting their middleman positions.
“It’s inevitable that DeFi will play a huge part in the future of finance. Existing institutions should find ways to embrace this technology and design sensible regulations which won’t hinder future technological advancements in this space.”
