Binance Pokes at Biden’s Crypto Crunch, Eyes UK Approval

[CryptoButthead.com , May 10, 2023] Well, well, well, ain’t this somethin’? Binance, the biggest hootenanny of a cryptocurrency exchange in the world, ain’t takin’ too kindly to Uncle Joe’s clampdown on their industry. They’re hollerin’ back, sayin’ they’re lookin’ to git the good graces of the UK regulators.

Their bigwig, Patrick Hillmann, says it’s like walkin’ through a cactus field doin’ business in the US these days. He says it’s been nuthin’ but confusing the past half year. But don’t you worry, they’re gonna do every darn thing they can to git a thumbs-up in the UK.

The US regulators have been ridin’ hard on crypto folks, Binance and Coinbase included. Heck, they’ve even sent FTX, one of the biggest online exchanges, belly up.

Just last month, Coinbase’s head honcho, Brian Armstrong, hinted he might pack up and head out of the US, with the UK on his map.

Hillmann jawed at the Financial Times’s crypto and digital assets get-together, sayin’ there’s been a big ole “regulatory pivot… in the US”. He’s bettin’ his boots that Uncle Sam’s gonna have to backpedal if Europe starts lookin’ like the new Promised Land for investment, what with their new “Mica” set of crypto rules.

He reckons the US is in a real pickle right now, especially with the Securities and Exchange Commission threatenin’ to sue Coinbase.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s gone and sued Binance and their head, Changpeng Zhao, claimin’ they’ve been operating on the sly in the US. Plus, the US Justice Department’s got their magnifying glass on ’em.

Binance has been tryin’ to make nice with UK regulators ever since the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned a branch of their company from operatin’ in the UK. They still let UK customers buy and sell crypto, but they ain’t got the official okay in Britain.

Recently, their payments partner gave ’em the boot, sayin’ the regulatory environment was “too challenging”. The FCA wasn’t too keen on Binance’s deal with Paysafe, their payments provider.

Binance started out in China but hightailed it outta there. They’ve got a holding company in the Cayman Islands, but they ain’t saying where their main office is, which ain’t sittin’ too well with the regulators.