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Circle K convenience stores will host thousands of crypto ATMs

Despite suspending service to some crypto ATMs during the early days of the pandemic, Bitcoin Depot has continued to expand.

The largest Bitcoin ATM operator in the world has said it will be expanding into Circle K locations in the United States and Canada.

Bitcoin Depot announced today that more than 700 of its Bitcoin ATM machines had already been installed at Circle K convenience stores in 30 U.S. states as part of the new partnership. The crypto ATM distributer said the expansion could provide underserved communities with financial access tools and attract more people to the crypto space. 

“Over the last year, we have watched cryptocurrency gain mainstream adoption by wealth managers and investment firms, but what about the people that don't have access to those services?” Bitcoin Depot’s director of product Alona Lubovnaya told Cointelegraph. “ATMs being located in Circle K's provide an easy onramp for the underbanked and less affluent, not just someone with a wealth manager.”

The company claims to have more than 3,500 crypto ATMs in operation across the U.S. and Canada allowing customers to purchase more than 30 different types of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), and Ether (ETH). Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Canada-based operator of Circle K, reports that its brand operates roughly 7,150 stores in the U.S. and 2,111 in Canada.

Bitcoin Depot announced last year that it was suspending service to certain machines in areas at high risk during the ongoing pandemic. The company has since reported that it has restored service to all locations, despite the recent rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths in the United States.

Related: The number of Bitcoin ATMs in the US rose 177% over the past year

The number of crypto ATMs across the globe allowing customers to exchange fiat for crypto has grown significantly in recent years. At the time of publication, data from CoinATMRadar shows there are roughly 24,000 crypto ATMs in 75 countries, from Kazakhstan to Australia. The majority — more than 20,000 — are in the United States.

“Our mission is to Bring Crypto to the Masses,” said Lubovnaya. “We will continue to do this with significant partner expansions going forward.”

Coinbase calls for Fed, FDIC, and OCC to remove regulatory roadblocks for crypto banking

Study suggests Canadian CBDC could promote digital innovation within the country

The Bank of Canada suggested that a Canadian CBDC could provide a number of innovations, including the elimination of transaction fees from debit and credit cards.

A study released by Canada’s central bank, Banque du Canada, has noted a number of favorable reasons that the country could benefit from its own Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC.

The document laid out two scenarios that might result in the bank issuing a CBDC at some future date. One would be if citizens were no longer widely using cash within the country for reasons that were left unspecified. The other could be if a digital currency, public or private, were to become so widely adopted as to threaten the sovereignty of Canada’s existing central currency.

Participants did not see either scenario as a likely outcome in the near future, but noted that an interest in stablecoin regulation and adoption had increased within the country in recent months. Even so, the study found that cryptocurrencies and stablecoins used as a means of payment in Canada are currently a “novelty for a small number of enthusiasts.”

Related Bank of Canada sees no strong case for a digital dollar — For now

The document acknowledged a number of potential benefits inherent to the adoption of a CBDC. Namely that the technology could have the same level of safety as cash while allowing for use in payment systems for online transactions and peer-to-peer transfers. When compared to payment options like credit or debit cards, a CBDC would also not necessarily have the same type of transaction fees for retailers:

“A CBDC could be a simpler competition policy tool because it would provide an alternative low-cost payment instrument for customers and merchants. This would help bring down the interchange fees charged by the established networks.”

That a CBDC could potentially support smart contracts was also a point of interest, as they could increase the speed and accuracy of execution by automating actions that are typically done manually. Participants felt that smart contracts would create some risk for users however, given that smart contract developers would likely be independent from the bank’s CBDC platform. This could be problematic if the execution of the contract did not follow the terms agreed upon, whether purposely or otherwise. They advised that smart contracts, as well as the programmability of a Canadian CBDC, would need to be studied further before implementation is decided.

There could be many benefits to creating a CBDC for Canada. The study explained:

“In general, we argue that a CBDC might be beneficial and probably necessary to ensure a competitive and vibrant digital economy.”

Canada is not the only country looking into possibly implementing a CBDC. Last week while speaking to the House of Representatives, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell said there would be no need for stablecoins or cryptocurrency if there was a digital U.S. dollar. A paper focusing on the benefits and risks of a digital dollar is expected to be released sometime in September.

Coinbase calls for Fed, FDIC, and OCC to remove regulatory roadblocks for crypto banking

Four North American Bitcoin miners that could benefit from the East-West shift

With China seemingly out of the equation, North American Bitcoin miners are looking to exert hash rate dominance.

Even before China finally wielded the ban hammer on crypto mining, Bitcoin (BTC) miners in North America had been building up their capacity amid efforts to gain a larger share of the global hash rate distribution. From building bigger data centers to acquiring hardware inventories, these establishments have been making concert efforts to balance the hash-power dichotomy between the Eastern and Western hemispheres.

North American Bitcoin miners often have to contend with energy usage concerns as well and some have been keen to partner with oil and gas firms, becoming buyers of last resort for flared gas. Indeed, American oil drillers and Bitcoin mining firms continue to collaborate over natural gas utilization, proving once again that the potential for Bitcoin’s thermodynamic capacity is set to be a net positive for the environment, despite the criticisms put forward against proof-of-work (PoW) mining.

With North American-based entities seemingly on the cusp of establishing a greater presence in the global Bitcoin mining matrix, here is a look at four of the largest Bitcoin miners in the region.

Riot Blockchain

In 2020, China still controlled about 65% of the global Bitcoin hash rate, according to estimates from several data sources. However, Riot Blockchain was expanding its operations with a swathe of major hardware acquisitions from leading Bitcoin miner makers like Bitmain.

In August and December 2020 alone, Riot Blockchain spent millions of dollars to acquire thousands of Antminers from Bitmain. Indeed, as reported by Cointelegraph in April, Riot Blockchain’s hashing capacity increased by 460% in 2020.

Riot Blockchain’s expanded inventory drive has continued into 2021, with the company purchasing over 42,000 Antminers from Bitmain earlier in the year. The Nasdaq-listed company also announced a $650 million purchase of a major data center located in Texas.

By acquiring the Whinstone data center in Texas, Riot Blockchain is set to own the single largest Bitcoin mining facility in the United States. The American Bitcoin mining giant is even set to expand the original capacity of the site from 750 megawatts to over 1,000 MW.

With its upscaled capacity coinciding with sweeping crackdowns in China, it is unsurprising to see Riot Blockchain enjoying greater Bitcoin mining success, as evidenced by the figures quoted in its monthly production and operations update. In April, the company reported that it mined 187 Bitcoin (worth $11.2 million at the time) the previous month.

The March 2021 BTC production figure marked an 80% increase from its Bitcoin mining total for March 2020. In its latest report in June, the company stated it mined 243 BTC, a 406% increase from its June 2020 production figure.

The June report also put Riot Blockchain’s year-to-date Bitcoin mining total at 1,167 BTC (currently worth $36.5 million). As of June 2020, the company had only mined 508 BTC meaning that this year’s production figure represents a 130% year-on-year increase.

In total, Riot Blockchain says it holds over 2,200 BTC as of the end of June, with all of the Bitcoin coming from its mining operations. Detailing the link between its recent production successes and the situation in China, the June report stated, “The exodus of Bitcoin mining from China has resulted in a downward difficulty adjustment and lower global network hash rate. As such, Riot is currently mining more Bitcoin per day than at any time in the Company’s history,” continuing:

“While it is broadly expected that many Chinese miners will eventually relocate, the company estimates that it could be quite some time before the global Bitcoin mining hash rate returns to its previous high of 180 exahash per second (“EH/s”), last observed earlier this year.”

Marathon

Marathon is arguably Riot Blockchain’s main competitor in the “North American hash wars” and, like its rival, the crypto mining giant has been expanding its hardware inventory since 2020. In October, the Nevada-based Marathon Patent Group acquired 10,000 Antminer S-19 Pros from Bitmain.

Such was the size of the order that it was estimated to boost the company’s operational hash rate capacity to 2.56 EH/s, a little more than the target 2.3 EH/s for Riot Blockchain’s expansion. With the Antminer order arriving in batches for Marathon, the company seems to now be focusing on achieving “carbon neutrality” and satisfying regulatory demands.

Back in March, the company first announced plans to divert all of its current hash power to a regulatory-compliant Bitcoin mining pool by the start of May. At the time, Marathon stated that the new pool adhered to U.S. Anti-Money Laundering (AML) protocols established by America’s Office of Foreign Control.

As reported by Cointelegraph in May, Marathon is planning a 300 MW carbon-neutral data center that will house 73,000 Bitcoin miners. According to the announcement at the time, the deployment of the facility will bring the company’s carbon neutrality to about 70% while taking its hash rate to 10.37 EH/s.

According to data from BTC.com, achieving a hash rate capacity of 10.37 EH/s would put Marathon number five on the current Bitcoin hash rate distribution log.

While more than 50% down from its 2021 high of $56.56, the company’s stock is still up 122.34% year-to-date as of the time of writing. With Bitcoin exchange-traded funds yet to gain approval in the United States, Bitcoin mining stocks are seen as the next best thing in terms of gaining indirect exposure to BTC.

Marathon itself is a Bitcoin holder separate from its mining interests. At the start of the year, the company bought over 4,800 BTC, valued at about $150 million at the time. New York Digital Investment Group reportedly facilitated the deal.

Hut 8

United States.-based firms are not the only major players in the North American Bitcoin mining theater, as Canadian outfit Hut 8 is also a significant name in the conversation. Once the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner by capacity back in 2018, the Toronto-based company seems to be recovering from its previous setbacks.

In 2018, the crypto market suffered a crippling bear market as coin prices tumbled from peaks reached in December 2017 and January 2018. In May 2019, Hut 8 reported losses north of $136 million for the previous year, which also culminated in significant staff cuts.

Having waded through the crypto winter of 2018 and 2019, Hut 8 has undergone a massive upscaling of its miner hardware, announcing the purchase of over 11,000 MicroBT rigs valued at about $44 million. Based on the capacity of the MicroBT miners, Hut 8’s hash rate capacity is expected to reach 2.5 EH/s once all the machines are installed in the company’s 100 MW facility, currently under construction.

At 2.5 EH/s, Hut 8 predicts its daily Bitcoin production will jump two-fold from between 6.5 to 7.5 BTCto between 14 to 16 BTC. Such a per diem BTC mining rate may also serve to preserve Hut 8’s status as the Bitcoin miner holding the most self-mined BTC in the world.

Back in January, the Canadian Bitcoin miner estimated that its total Bitcoin holdings will reach 5,000 BTC by the start of 2022. The company also outlined plans to expand its hash rate to six EH/s by mid-2022.

Related: North American crypto miners prepare to challenge China’s dominance

Hive Blockchain

The East-West shift in Bitcoin hash rate will ultimately involve sweeping changes to the energy mix for BTC mining, with more of an emphasis on “Green Bitcoin.” For the Canadian crypto miner, green energy is a major focus point for its operations.

From Canada to Iceland, and even to Sweden, Hive Blockchain operated green-energy-powered data centers for crypto mining. Back in May, the company was reportedly forced to sell its facility in Norway, citing issues with regulators in the country.

Earlier in July, Hive acquired 3,000 MicroBT M30S miners for its facility in New Brunswick, Canada. The added hash power will reportedly be contributed to the Foundry USA Pool that already aggregates hashing potential from other major North American miners like Hut 8, Blockcap and Bitfarms, among others.

Hive’s additional 3,000 mining rigs will reportedly take the company’s hashing potential up by 0.264 EH/s to reach a total hash rate of 0.83 EH/s. The company also recently joined the ranks of publicly traded Bitcoin mining firms after securing a Nasdaq listing back in June.

Meanwhile, Gryphon Digital Mining, another U.S.-based miner, may soon be challenging the more established names in the North American BTC mining industry. The company, which claims to run on 100% renewable energy, recently purchased 7,200 Antminer S19J Pro mining rigs.

Based on the hashing capacity of the machines, Gryphon’s hash rate will approximately increase by about 0.72 EH/s. This new inventory will reportedly be installed in August and upon that time, the company will receive its ESG rating.

Coinbase calls for Fed, FDIC, and OCC to remove regulatory roadblocks for crypto banking

University of Cambridge Bitcoin Mining Map Shows China’s Hashrate Dropped to 46%

University of Cambridge Bitcoin Mining Map Shows China’s Hashrate Dropped to 46%After the researchers from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) project said that the website’s “Bitcoin Mining Map” had not been updated since April 2020, the map has finally been updated. Current data from the mining map shows the coverage goes all the way up until April 2021, and the estimate of China’s hashrate […]

Coinbase calls for Fed, FDIC, and OCC to remove regulatory roadblocks for crypto banking

Poland, Romania Rank in Top 10 for Number of Bitcoin ATMs, World’s Total Exceeds 23,000

Poland, Romania Rank in Top 10 for Number of Bitcoin ATMs, World’s Total Exceeds 23,000Two East European nations, Poland and Romania, are now among the top 10 countries hosting the most cryptocurrency ATMs. The global number of teller machines supporting crypto transactions has increased exponentially over the past months, now reaching over 23,000 devices. Poland Ranks Among Leading Crypto ATM Destinations The growth in popularity and market prices of […]

Coinbase calls for Fed, FDIC, and OCC to remove regulatory roadblocks for crypto banking

Green miner Bitfarms’ production up 50% after China ban, as Compass goes nuclear

Bitfarms is producing more BTC at a lower cost due to the drop in difficulty.

Publicly traded North American Bitcoin mining company, Bitfarms, has doubled its productivity this year amid the Chinese crackdown and resultant miner migration.

The Canadian hydroelectricity mining outfit claims to be currently powering an estimated 1.5% of the entire Bitcoin network with more than 99% renewable green energy.

In a July 14 production update, the firm revealed that it had mined 1,357 BTC in the first six months of 2021, adding that this was the largest number of BTC mined in North America as reported by publicly-traded miners.

It has projected the production of more than 400 BTC for the month of July, which would be double the 199 it mined in January, and more than 50% over June’s 365 BTC mined.

Bitfarms, which was founded in 2017, also stated that more than 95% of its production this year, or 1,445 BTC, has been deposited into custody as of July 12.

Earlier this month, Bitcoin experienced its largest difficulty drop in history due to the mining crackdown in China and resultant closure of operations. BitInfoCharts has reported a 42.5% decline in difficulty since late May with more than half of that occurring this month.

This has resulted in Bitfarms producing significantly higher quantities of BTC at a lower cost per unit produced, the report added. The productivity boost did not prevent company stock taking a hit in late June as reported by Cointelegraph.

Bitfarms founder and CEO, Emiliano Grodzki, stated that Beijing's Bitcoin mining embargo has been good news for the company which has nearly doubled its market share as a result.

“Reports indicate that the ban on crypto mining in China and the exodus of mining rigs seeking new hosting may take an extended period of time to resolve. Bitfarms is well-positioned to take advantage of the significantly improved economic opportunity.”

The company has already begun that process with the installation of 1,500 Bitcoin miners from MicroBT in its Magog, Quebec, data center, adding 120 PH/s of total production in June 2021.

Related: Nic Carter takes aim at claims Bitcoin is an environmental disaster

Compass points to nuclear power

In a separate mining industry development, North American mining and hosting firm Compass Mining has signed a 20-year deal with nuclear fission startup Oklo which will supply the firm with 150 megawatts of energy.

According to Compass CEO, Whit Gibbs, the first Oklo mini-reactors will be deployed in 2023 or 2024 and the costs will be “considerably” lower than the energy sources firm currently uses.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, nuclear reactors do not produce air pollution or carbon dioxide while operating, however, the major environmental concern related to them is the creation of radioactive waste.

Compass is also in talks with the crypto-friendly city of Miami about getting power from the Turkey Point Nuclear Plant according to a Nasdaq report.

Coinbase calls for Fed, FDIC, and OCC to remove regulatory roadblocks for crypto banking

Green energy-focused Bitcoin miner Hive joins North American mining pool

Hive aims to take advantage of the east-to-west shift in Bitcoin mining power after regulators in China have renewed efforts to crack down on the industry.

Following its approval for a Nasdaq listing, Canadian Hive Blockchain Technologies has bought more than 3,000 Bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs to get involved in the Bitcoin mining shift from east to west.

Purchased from Digital Currency Group (DCG) subsidiary Foundry Digital LLC, the 3,019 MicroBT M30S miners acquired as part of the deal are already located at Hive’s facilities in Lachute, Quebec and Grand Falls, New Brunswick. Foundry will be issued cash and 1.5 million warrants of Hive, according to an official announcement.

Hive's new hash power will join the Foundry USA Pool, which includes Blockcap, Hut8, Bitfarms and Foundry as participants.

Noting the massive migration of mining power from China to the U.S. and Canada, Hive executive chairman Frank Holmes said that the firm’s entry into a North American mining pool furthers the company’s goal of increased transparency and accountability with its partners.

“We are excited to have Hive as a partner for the Foundry USA Pool as we continue playing our part in securing the global bitcoin mining network, ”Foundry CEO Mike Colyer added.

Related: Hive Blockchain Technologies approved for Nasdaq listing

The announcement says that the addition of the new miners would add an aggregate hash power of 264 petahash per second (PH/s), increasing Hive’s overall Bitcoin operating hash rate by 46% to approximately 830 PH/s. Based on the current difficulty and Bitcoin price, the newly enhanced mining setup would generate an additional $80,000 in daily income for Hive.

Hive is known for its green energy-based mining efforts.  The company has green energy-powered data center facilities in Canada, Sweden and Iceland. It recently sold its Norwegian operations due to legislative challenges.

Coinbase calls for Fed, FDIC, and OCC to remove regulatory roadblocks for crypto banking

China crypto ban a ‘huge opportunity for Canada,’ mining group head says

The diversified location of Bitcoin mining facilities following China’s crackdown is great news for the rest of the world, iMining CEO Khurram Shroff says.

China’s regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrencies continues to alienate major miners. Dubai-based investment company IBC Group reportedly plans to end Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) mining operations in China following ban announcements from the different provinces across the country.

The group has major mining operations in China and plans to distribute its operations to the United Arab Emirates, Canada, the United States, Kazakhstan, Iceland and various South American countries, according to sources. IBC Group recently relocated its headquarters to Toronto, Canada.

Commenting on the crackdown on crypto with a focus on mining activities, IBC Group chairman and iMining CEO Khurram Shroff said it’s a temporary inconvenience. He added that the diversified location of mining facilities is great news for the rest of the world:

“A shift of crypto mining operations out of China will be a huge opportunity for Canada. The Toronto Stock Exchange recently listed the world’s first Bitcoin ETF, so the nation is already ahead of the curve, in terms of mainstreaming cryptocurrencies.”

China turned its attention to the crypto mining industry’s energy consumption following the large-scale power outages in the Chinese mining hub of Xinjiang in mid-April. This was followed by stricter supervision by the government, sending a shockwave through the crypto markets.

Related: Expert details the state of crypto in Canada

However, experts from the industry have mostly agreed since then that while the initial shakeup will be arduous and challenging, miners’ migration out of China will nurture the decentralization of crypto.

Galaxy Digital’s Mike Novogratz saw “a big net positive” for the Bitcoin ecosystem for the long term, while former Gemini security engineer Brandon Arvanaghi stressed, “The crackdown means that Bitcoin is working, not that it’s failing.”

Coinbase calls for Fed, FDIC, and OCC to remove regulatory roadblocks for crypto banking

Binance tackles Travel Rule compliance after multiple bans

Following bans in Japan, the U.K. and Ontario, Binance is ramping up its compliance efforts with a specialized tool developed by crypto intelligence firm CipherTrace.

Binance, the world's top-ranked crypto exchange by daily trading volume, has faced a quick succession of bans on its operations in three different jurisdictions: Ontario, Canada; Japan; and the United Kingdom. While affected users continue to adjust to these quickfire developments, the platform appears to be stepping up its efforts to comply with international regulatory requirements — specifically, the industry-shaping so-called “Travel Rule.”

The Travel Rule, introduced by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), requires regulators and virtual asset providers (VASPs) — including crypto exchanges, custody providers and over-the-counter trading desks — to gather and share customer data during transactions. The rule came into effect in 2020 and broadly parallels the requirements already in place for money transmitters in countries like the United States, where money transmitters are required to record identifying information of all parties engaged in fund transfers made between financial institutions.

However, adherence to the rule has been complicated for many crypto exchanges worldwide due to the discrepancies between various countries' particular transpositions of the FATF's framework. For this reason, Binance — following in the steps of other VASPs — is choosing to implement a specialized tool developed by crypto intelligence firm CipherTrace that has been adapted to tackle some of the challenges that VASPs are faced with. 

Dubbed "Traveler" — named after the rule it has been designed to address — the tool continues CipherTrace's longer-term work on an open-source Travel Rule Information Architecture — and is designed to handle the counterparty VASP due diligence demanded by the FATF. The company's CEO, Dave Jevans, said that CipherTrace is "confident that Traveler will help Binance to continue to meet the highest standards for global Anti-Money Laundering compliance, particularly as regulation of VASPs tightens in jurisdictions around the world." He added that the solution aims to enable AML compliance "without compromising security or operational continuity."

Traveler aims to simplify the process by which VASPs vet transactions, automatically identifying VASP-to-VASP transfers along with the recipient VASP. The tool is designed to ensure that sensitive, personal and identifiable information associated with confirmed crypto transactions remains confidential and is only shared between institutions that are compliant with the Travel Rule themselves. Using an encrypted, mutually authenticated infrastructure, Traveler also issues Know Your Customer VASP digital certificates and automates the onboarding and vetting of new counterparty VASPs, including those in jurisdictions that have not yet implemented the required information sharing regulations.

Related: Crypto firms still not widely adopting ‘Travel Rule,’ says FATF deputy

As reported, the first regulatory action targeting Binance's operations this month was imposed on June 25 in Japan, where the Financial Services Agency issued a warning to the exchange, accusing the company of offering its services to Japanese users without the necessary registration. On the same day, Binance announced that it would cease providing services to users located in Ontario, where the province's regulator has been extremely proactive in scrutinizing and taking action against crypto firms for their operations. 

Soon after these developments, the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority ordered Binance to cease all regulated activities in the country. Binance’s U.K. customers are currently unable to use the popular fiat on-ramp service Faster Payments to withdraw British pounds from the platform.

Coinbase calls for Fed, FDIC, and OCC to remove regulatory roadblocks for crypto banking

Binance faces regulatory upheaval as lawmakers target ‘global’ exchanges

Regulators in Japan, the United Kingdom and the Canadian province of Ontario have all tightened their grip on cryptocurrency exchanges. Binance has been caught in the crosshairs.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform, Binance, has faced regulatory upheaval over the past week as jurisdictions clamped down on the use of unauthorized exchanges and warned citizens against accessing them. For Binance, adopting the moniker of “global exchange” has done very little to appease regulators that require specific licenses to offer financial services to their citizens. 

Below is a brief recap of recent regulatory actions surrounding Binance.

Japan

On June 25, Japan’s Financial Services Agency, or FSA, accused Binance of operating in the country without proper registration – potentially setting the stage for a protracted legal battle with regulators. That’s because, unlike other jurisdictions, Japan has carved out specific registration and operating rules for cryptocurrency exchanges since at least 2018. Rather than comply with the directives, Binance decided to move its operations to Malta in 2018.

Related: $71B in crypto has reportedly passed through ‘blockchain island’ Malta since 2017

The FSA’s warning isn’t limited to Binance, either. In May of this year, the regulator warned derivatives exchange Bybit that it was in violation of registration rules.

Ontario (Canada)

Around the same time that Japan’s FSA issued its warning, Binance announced it would cease all operations in the Canadian province of Ontario after the provincial securities regulator introduced sweeping new measures targeting cryptocurrency exchanges.

On Apr. 19, the Ontario Securities Commission, or OSC, introduced new prospectus and registration requirements for crypto exchanges. Using that as a benchmark, the OSC singled out two crypto exchanges – Bybit and Kucoin – for allegedly “flouting” Canadian securities laws. Rather than comply with the new edicts, Binance decided to exit the market entirely, giving users until the end of the year to liquidate and close their accounts.

United Kingdom

Binance was in the headlines again on Sunday after the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, ordered the exchange to halt all “regulated activity” in the country. This was interpreted by many as a blanket ban on using Binance to buy and sell cryptocurrencies in the U.K. In the meantime, transactions in the local pound Sterling currency have reportedly been blocked, according to users.

Binance asserts that the FCA notice pertains to Binance Markets Limited, which is a separate legal entity acquired by the firm in May 2020. As such, it “does not offer any products or services via the Binance.com website,” the company said.

Nevertheless, from June 30 onward Binance must notify U.K. users of the FCA’s restrictions on its website and mobile apps.

Germany

In April of this year, Germany’s Financial Supervisory Authority, or BaFin, warned Binance that it could be fined up to $6 million, or 5 million euros, for offering security-tracking tokens without an investor prospectus. Specifically, BaFin raised issues with digital tokens that track blue-chip stocks like Microsoft, Apple and Tesla. According to the Financial Times, Binance told the regulator that its digital stock tokens are not securities because they are purchased through a third-party broker and cannot be transferred to other exchanges.

United States

Binance operates in the United States through a dedicated trading desk called Binance.US, but it too has faced scrutiny in recent months. In May of this year, it was reported by Bloomberg that Binance is under investigation by the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service in a joint money-laundering and tax evasion probe.

Related: Binance sued for allegedly facilitating money laundering with 'lax KYC'

Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s CEO, refuted the title of the report by drawing attention to the fact that Binance cooperated with U.S. law enforcement agencies to “fight bad players.”

Coinbase calls for Fed, FDIC, and OCC to remove regulatory roadblocks for crypto banking