Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, is leaving Canada

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, says it is pulling out of the Canadian market.

The exchange announced the move on Twitter Friday afternoon.

“Unfortunately, today we are announcing that Binance will be joining other prominent crypto businesses in proactively withdrawing from the Canadian marketplace,” the tweet read.

Binance pointed to “new guidance related to stablecoins and investor limits provided to crypto exchanges” as making the market “untenable.”

Canada has tightened regulations for crypto asset trading platforms in recent months, with the introduction of a pre-registration process. The companies that do not adhere to the rules will face potential enforcement action, according to the website of the Ontario Securities Commission.

Binance was already restricted in Ontario as of 2022.

The crypto exchange said it put off the decision to leave the market for as long as it could to protect its Canadian users but found no path forward.

The exchange said Canadian customers will receive an email with information on how their accounts will be affected.

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Binance suggested that it would one day return to the Canadian market when “users have the freedom to access a broader suite of digital assets.”

“While we do not agree with the new guidance, we hope to continue to engage with Canadian regulators aimed at a thoughtful, comprehensive regulatory framework,” the tweet read.

Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao, who more commonly goes by CZ, is Canadian.

The digital assets industry has been in the crosshairs of regulators around the world, especially since the collapse of Binance-rival FTX in November, which triggered a market rout in the prices of the biggest digital coins.

Following the onset of the crypto winter of 2022, which wiped out more than a trillion dollars from the industry’s market value, lawmakers and securities regulators demanded tighter guidelines for disclosures on how the crypto companies operate and hold customer funds.

In March, Binance and its CEO Zhao were sued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission for operating what the regulator alleged was an “illegal” exchange and a “sham” compliance program.

Zhao responded in a statement on the company’s blog that the legal complaint “appears to contain an incomplete recitation of facts,” adding Binance disagreed with the CFTC’s findings.

— with files from Reuters