Binance users requested to get their funds back while were barred from withdrawing Pounds, Euros
Binance is constantly facing legal action when recently, a group of customers are seeking to get their funds back after the platform frozen in May. Meanwhile, the trading platform has suspended the withdrawal of British Pounds (GBP) and Euros (EUR), as payments provider Clear Junction stopped facilitating them.
A group of users is battling Binance to get their money back after May’s crash
On May 19, Binance’s app crashed for over an hour, leaving customers unable to manage their funds. And one of the affected users stood up for justice, Anand Singhal, a freelance coder who entered a leveraged position with more than $50,000. When Singhal started checking prices and perceived the incoming fall, he tried to get out of his position but he can’t.
Due to the dizzying price drop at the time, Binance’s platform was unable to cope with the trading load. Hundreds of thousands of traders were trying to do the same thing at the same moment: exit the market. The platform crashed and left traders unable to handle their positions for more than an hour.
And the result is Singhal and other traders lost their money. And now they are fighting back. As AZCoin News reported, at least 700 users are seeking legal recourse to get their funds back from Binance in France. And in Italy, many users are petitioning Binance about the same issue.
One of the other victims of the technical glitch on Binance was Kate Marie, a 59-year-old healthcare technology consultant in Sydney. After consulting materials on YouTube, Marie started to enter the cryptocurrency market with $10,000. In April, the market turned positive, Marie earned $450,000.
“Cryptocurrency gives the poor the same opportunity to make money as the rich,” she said. It wasn’t until the market fell that Marie said she lost about $170,000 because she couldn’t access Binance to cut her losses. “I feel cheated,” Marie exasperated.
Binance technical problem cost Kate Marie $170,000
However, these incidents are nothing new in the world of cryptocurrency exchanges. Even Coinbase has faced similar problems. Even Robinhood has experienced outages and has been fined $70 million Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
But Binance is an exchange without a head office and so it will be difficult for these users to recover their losses. Binance said it has contacted most of the affected users to offer compensation for the issues. In any case, disgruntled users still looking for reimbursement must present their complaints to the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center, according to the firm terms of service.
Trading platform users barred from withdrawing British Pounds (GBP) and Euros (EUR)
Finally, the exchnage distributed a notice stating that exchange users are not able to withdraw GBP and EUR.
“Please note that GBP Bank Withdrawals (via Faster Payments) have been temporarily suspended,” Binance noted in a message to users. “We are working to resume this service as soon as we can.”
Customers getting emails from Binance this AM, comes after @adamsamson noted a suspension for maintenance on GBP withdrawals yesterday https://t.co/ldgKe8squg
— Emily Nicolle (@emilyjnicolle) July 13, 2021
A similar message says that EUR withdrawals are blocked as well. Binance also notes that users can still purchase cryptocurrencies with these currencies using credit and debit cards.
Today’s actions may be the result of Clear Junction’s decision to sever ties with the exchange. Clear Junction, a London-based financial company, has served as a payment processor for Binance since June 2020. It can confirm that it will no longer be facilitating payments related to Binance. The decision has been made following the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent announcement that Binance is not permitted to undertake any regulatory activity in the UK.
“We have decided to suspend both GBP and EUR payments and will no longer be facilitating deposits or withdrawals in favour of or on behalf of the crypto trading platform. Clear Junction acts in full compliance with FCA regulations and guidance in regards to handling payments of Binance”, Clear Junction stated.
The news comes at a time when Binance is facing increased regulatory scrutiny from world governments, with several organizations blocking payments to the exchange in the UK and Europe last week. To make matters more complicated, Binance also received warnings from securities regulators in the UK, Japan, Cayman Islands, and Thailand just last month.
As AZCoin News reported, several banks including Barclays and Santander have blocked users from paying to Binance. Additionally, Binance temporarily disabled SEPA payments last week for reasons that may be related to issues with Clear Junction.
Read more:
- Binance Launchpad May Temporarily Ban All Chinese Users For Safety Reasons
- FTC Received Over 700 Complaints About Binance In 12 Months While Santander Banning Payments To The Exchange