Binance shuts down derivatives market for Hong Kong users
In a bid to improve its regulatory compliance, leading crypto exchange Binance will now stop new Hong Kong-based users from accessing its derivatives product.
While new users will not be able to create new accounts for trading crypto derivatives, existing account holders in Hong Kong have been slammed with restricted access to crypto futures trading and other derivatives.
The move comes just a week after Binance shut down derivatives trading offerings in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (popularly known as CZ) disclosed the development on Twitter.
New Binance users from Hong Kong can no longer open futures accounts and we will wind-down access for existing users.
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) August 6, 2021
This is one of many proactive measures Binance is taking to help establish crypto compliance best practices worldwide.https://t.co/D1JKx52O7T
Meanwhile, a blog post shared by CZ stated that existing Hong Kong users would be given a 90-day window to close up their positions on crypto futures, options, tokens traded on leverage, and margin products offered by Binance.
Binance will be the first major cryptocurrency exchange to proactively restrict access to derivatives products to Hong Kong users.
Regulators in Hong Kong UK, Germany, Japan, and Italy have all mounted pressure on Binance with regards to its consumer protection and anti-money laundering standards. Recall that in February, the government of Hong Kong pushed a legislative proposal to exclude retail traders from accessing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
