Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has finally given an update on the launch of its exclusive trading platform for US customers. Binance had previously initiated a change in their terms back in June, a change which prohibited US customers from accessing the services of the exchange. The change came into effect as an effort to comply with the SEC’s strict regulatory measures.
Binance had announced its US-exclusive trading platform the same day. Back then, Binance had said that they were inexperienced to take on the US market and wanted to be fully compliant with regulatory bodies. Soon, the Malta-based exchange had announced that Binance will be operating its US exchange through a lesser-known trading partner – BAM Trading Services.
The partnership would see Binance provide its US operator with the license of its matching engine and wallet technologies. Catherine Coley was announced as CEO soon after. Coley was the former head of XRP Institutional Liquidity at Ripple.
Just a few minutes ago, Binance USA shared the latest update on the endeavour via a post written by CEO Coley. She also shared the same via her own Twitter account.
What to Expect From https://t.co/AZwoBOy3iq
"As we approach the launch of https://t.co/AZwoBOy3iq, we want to outline a few key items to help you prepare for trading on our marketplace." – @cryptocoley https://t.co/T7PQKPYKRh
— Binance.US (@BinanceAmerica) September 6, 2019
According to the post, Binance.US will be a fast, compliant and a secure digital asset marketplace. Here, the word ‘compliant’ is key as Binance had geo-blocked U.S customers from accessing its trading services to better fulfil its regulatory obligations to the SEC.
The FAQ-like post goes on to say that KYC will be mandatory for all trading customers, with setting up a new account requiring a valid government ID and social security number.
Coley also confirmed that Binance.US will be launched in the next few weeks, with KYC onboarding initiated a few days prior to the same. The CEO also promised that while initial trading access will only be available on desktop/web, an app will be rolled out soon.
Reactions to the ‘update’ were lukewarm at best however, with one user calling it “pathetic” and “without any substance.” Many others were concerned about the list of coins that will be made available for trading on the US platform as a host of crypto-assets have recently been de-listed by several exchanges over regulatory concerns.
It must be noted however that in a previous update dated 9 August, Binance.US had revealed that it was evaluating a list of digital assets under the Digital Asset Risk Assessment Framework for listing on the platform. Bitcoin [BTC], Tether [USDT], Binance Coin [BNB], IOTA, Litecoin [LTC], and Ethereum [ETH] were among the ones being considered.
