Binance is set to launch a crypto trading platform in the UK in the summer to serve both institutional and retail investors. Through the platform, Binance hopes to meet the need of the increasing institutional clientele. Its move is due to the rise in demand for digital investments in the institutional investment market.
According to plan, Binance plants to start with 65 digital currencies. The digital assets can be traded directly against other fiat currencies such as the pounds and Euros according to a report done by Reuters on Wednesday. UK customers can buy and sell using pounds and Euros.
Binance will be a regulated exchange and will operate under the watch of the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
Through the platform, users can do transactions from bank accounts using the UK Faster Payments Service and the Single Euro Payments Area network. This will increase efficiency, which will improve the trading experience for investors.
According to Teana Baker-Taylor, the director of Binance UK, Binance aims to give traders more investment options following the maturity of the crypto market. She clarified that the platform would be for the UK market and the European market as a whole. “Interest and participation in the UK digital asset markets are growing, not just in-depth with its current participants, but also in breadth,” she added.
Binance affirms that the platform has experienced a rise in the number of institutional investors, which has grown by 47% since the last quarter of 2019. In Q1 of 2020, the number of institutional investors was 50% more than the previous quarter. It has also seen a surge in trading volumes.
Institutional trading volumes have increased by 113% in the first quarter of 2020. There has also been an increase in future investment by 217%.
As of January 10th, crypto exchanges working in the UK have to register with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This was enacted after the EU’s Fifth Money Laundering Directive (MLD5) became part of the UK domestic law. Binance followed the directive and took the measures required to be registered.
So far, Binance is already serving the UK though it accepts deposits in pounds when done through UK credit cards and Binance Jersey, which is its fiat to the crypto platform. Teana clarified that the platform would only be able to make spot trades.
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