In December 2021, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said the crypto exchange was preparing to expand its operations in the UK despite regulatory problems earlier that year. Zhao stated that Binance was working on a UK company that would follow local rules.
The plan came months after the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) restricted Binance Markets Limited from carrying out regulated activities in the country. At the time, Binance said it was preparing to meet the regulator’s requirements.
Zhao announced to Sunday Telegraph that Binance was creating a company for the UK market similar to its Binance.US structure. He also mentioned that the exchange had hired former UK regulators and hundreds of compliance staff as it prepared for a possible FCA application.
What happened to the UK plan
The expansion did not develop as the 2021 report suggested.
Binance Markets Limited later cancelled its FCA permissions in May 2023. The FCA said that the company was no longer authorised and that no other Binance Group entity held UK authorisation or registration for regulated business.
That means the original expectation of a quick return to the UK market through a new regulated entity did not happen in the way Binance described in 2021.
Binance has not disappeared from the UK market altogether. Its UK-facing platform remains active, including products and trading notices for UK users. However, that should not be confused with holding FCA authorisation for regulated activities.
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The UK market is changing again
The regulatory environment Binance would face today is also different from the one that existed when Zhao made those comments.
The FCA has now completed rules for a widerbigger cryptoasset regime. The new framework will cover activities including crypto trading platforms and other services, with firms expected to obtain the required authorisation. Applications for the new regime are scheduled to open on September 30, 2026, while the main rules are expected to take effect on October 25, 2027.
This gives Binance another possible route into a more formally regulated UK market, but it would need to meet the requirements of the new system.
The original 2021 story therefore remains useful as a record of Binance’s plans at the time, but its prediction of near-term UK expansion did not hold. The company’s relationship with UK regulators has since gone through cancellation of its FCA permissions and a changing regulatory framework.
For Binance, the question is no longer simply whether it wants to return to the UK. The bigger issue is whether it can secure the permissions needed to operate regulated crypto services under the country’s new rules.
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