Binance is launching a regulated trading platform in the UK

Crypto exchange Binance is set to launch a regulated trading platform in the U.K. this summer.

Reuters reported the news on Wednesday, saying that the platform is aimed at both retail and institutional investors and will be regulated by the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority.

Binance.UK is planning to support 65 crypto assets at launch that can be traded using pounds and euros. The exchange would support direct bank transfers via the U.K. Faster Payments Service and the Single Euro Payments Area network.

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The launch announcement comes a month after Binance hired former Coinfloor executive Teana Baker-Taylor as its U.K. director. She told Reuters that crypto interest in the U.K. is growing, and the exchange plans to capture that interest through products and services such as staking.

Binance claims to have attracted more institutional clients this year - an increase of 47.4% in the first quarter of 2020 as compared to the last quarter of 2019. Its institutional client volumes have also reportedly grown - 113% for spot trades and 217% for futures trades - in Q1 2020 compared to Q4 2019.

A Binance spokesperson told The Block that Binance.UK would only offer spot trading and not derivative products. 

It is worth noting that Binance already offers separate fiat-to-crypto trading platforms in the U.S., Singapore, South Korea, Uganda and Jersey, the self-governing British island.

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.