Binance has again caught the attention of the FCA after partnering with crypto firm Eqonex for Bifinity.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto-asset trading platform, caught the attention of regulators yesterday after announcing a partnership with Nasdaq-listed crypto firm Eqonex for its own fiat-crypto payments provider, Bifinity.
According to the partnership agreement, Binance takes control of Eqonex through a $36 million convertible loan. Binance, on the other hand, provides this loan through its newly launched Bifinity. While Binance doesn’t make this clear, Eqonex’s own announcement says it will have the right to appoint Bifinity’s CEO, chief financial officer and chief legal officer to two board seats.
Eqonex’s Digivault unit is FCA registered. According to the FCA, the deal makes Binance Group the beneficial owners of Digivault. On the other hand, the FCA does not have the authority to evaluate the eligibility of new beneficial owners or change of control. Therefore, “If the firm or beneficial owner is not sure that it is eligible, it may take steps to suspend or revoke the license of a crypto-asset business.”
As it is known, financial regulators in the UK had previously issued a warning for Binance. After Binance’s new initiative launched yesterday, the warnings came up again.
Binance announced yesterday that it has launched Bifinity, its own fiat-to-crypto payment provider, to facilitate crypto integration for companies.