Binance tells Ontario Securities Commission that it will cease operations in the region

In an undertaking to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) in Canada, crypto exchange giant Binance has confirmed that it will cease activities involving Ontario investors. 

The exchange also added that it will not open new Ontario accounts and provide reimbursement and fee waivers to certain Ontario customers under the control of a third party.

The agreement appears to be the conclusion of a dispute that began in June when Binance declared that it will no longer handle Ontario accounts and recommended users to close active holdings before the end of the year. The OSC had introduced a new strategy and registration procedures for crypto exchange in May last year.

Binance was somehow managing this whole time

Binance notified investors in December that despite not having a license, it was allowed to continue operating in the province. That claim was swiftly disproved by the OSC. Binance said in its undertaking submitted on Wednesday that its statement was false. The exchange also admitted that it informed Ontario investors in a January 1 email that trading and onboarding were restricted, but that they were still able to trade normally. Users in Ontario were given 90 days to close out their positions as part of the plan.

“Any past, present, or future breaches of Ontario securities law not arising from the events described in the undertaking,” the OCS noted.

The Ontario regulator is notable for its tough stance on cryptocurrency exchanges. It recently started taking action against exchanges like Bitfinex, OKEx, Bybit, KuCoin, and Polo Digital Assets, all of which used to operate in the province. 

In January this year, as TheCoinRise reported, Bitfinex also suggested Ontario-based users remove funds from the platform before March 1.

Bitbuy, Coinberry, CoinSmart, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Wealthsimple are the exchanges that have been approved to operate in Ontario as of late January. Tether (USDT) was likewise prohibited by the OSC in August.

Binance will continue to function in other Canadian provinces. In Canada, the Alberta Securities Commission is the exchange’s primary regulator.