Leading digital currency exchange Binance – arguably the biggest cryptocurrency trading platform in the world – is taking heavy action against unverified users.
Binance Moves Towards Limiting Unverified Customers
In a series of tweets, Changpeng Zhao – the company’s CEO – announced that Binance would be limiting how much money customers can remove or withdraw from their accounts daily, granted they have not gone through the verification process with the exchange. Zhao explained the details as such:
Daily withdrawal limits will be adjusted from two BTC to 0.06 BTC (roughly ~$2,000 USD) for accounts who have only passed basic account verification.
For the past month or so, Binance has been facing heavy regulatory pressure from regions such as Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan. Not long ago, a division of Binance known as Binance Markets Limited was forced to exit the UK and forgo all services it was offering there given that it was allegedly not complying with monetary rules that had been set in place.
Now, it appears the company is trying to gain its reputation back and spread its wings to other territories by keeping all customers in check and ensuring a safe environment for its traders.
Changpeng Zhao further explained in a statement:
We are actively hiring leadership with regulatory and compliance experience. Binance is ready to assist regulators from around the world and together find the optimal way to set a fair playing field – consumer protection is important to all of us. We want to create a sustainable ecosystem around blockchain technology.
The situation is a rough one in that while the crypto space has often been wrought with fraud and criminal activity since the day it first arrived on scene, the whole idea of crypto is to give everyone the financial privacy they are potentially looking for. Many exchanges, digital currency trading platforms, and similar firms have been implementing what are known as KYC or “know your customer” protocols that require individuals to provide data suggesting they are who they are. This may include anything from a social security number to an uploaded copy of one’s government-issued ID card.
Is Privacy Affected?
Many have felt that this potentially gets in the way of crypto’s goal of keeping privacy and financial independence in play. At the time of writing, the basic account verification process through Binance – the one that permits daily withdrawals of around $2,000 – requires that users enter their addresses, names, and dates of birth. No supporting documents are required, and thus people can provide false information if they choose.
Those who wish to go beyond these horizons must take greater measures at proving themselves and must upload either copies of their passports or driving licenses, along with selfies for facial verification purposes. Granted they pass and their accounts are approved, they can withdraw up to 100 BTC per day.
