Cryptocurrency giant Binance has published a crypto user manifesto titled “10 Fundamental Rights for Crypto Users,” Yahoo Finance reported. The document delves into the issues of data privacy, financial inclusion, reliable security, and “smart regulation.”
A delicate relationship with regulators
Binance’s strained relationship with financial authorities across the globe is no secret to anyone at this point. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao famously said his company had no headquarters. More than ten national regulators have published warnings, cautioned investors, or announced investigations into Binance and its different affiliates.
Innovation and regulation ‘not mutually exclusive’
According to the seventh crypto commandment, regulation and innovation are not mutually exclusive. The tenth one states:
Crypto regulation is inevitable. If you’re looking for a caveat, you won’t find it here. Crypto regulation is coming. And we believe it will change the industry for the better.
Changpeng Zhao said in a statement:
We want to do everything possible as an industry to work with regulators and world leaders to identify what is going to be the effective regulatory policy that, most importantly, protects users and spurs innovation. At Binance, we look forward to working closely with regulators to help increase their knowledge on the industry and its possibilities.
Attacked from all sides
No cryptocurrency exchange has faced as many hurdles as Binance. This year alone, it was attacked by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority, the EU, Japan, Ontario, the Cayman Islands, Thailand, and Singapore among other jurisdictions. The UK’s FCA warned that Binance Markets Limited was not authorized to operate within the country.
The EU’s Single Euro Payments Area cut off Binance, albeit temporarily. The Japanese Financial Services Agency warned that Binance was not properly registered to operate in the country. The exchange pulled out of Ontario after the Canadian province’s Securities Commission announced a number of exchanges weren’t compliant with local regulations.
The Cayman Islands announced that Binance Group and Binance Holdings Ltd. were not authorized to operate within the country. Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission announced Binance was operating without a license on its territory and filed a criminal complaint against the exchange. Finally, the Monetary Authority of Singapore put Binance Holdings Ltd. on a watchlist.
What does the future hold for the industry?
What happens to Binance may signal how regulators will approach crypto. Regulators’ actions are a sign of what other exchanges should expect.
