Binance DEX to Block Users From 29 Countries, Including the U.S.

[Mercury]

Binance’s decentralized cryptocurrency exchange is reportedly set to start blocking users from the United States and 28 other countries in July of this year, presumably over regulatory concerns over the tokens that can be listed on the platform. This means they won't be able to trade via Binance.org.

According to TheBlock, Binance has been warning users who access its decentralized exchange from an IP address related to affected countries – which include the USA, Cuba, and Venezuela – that from July 1 onward they’ll no longer be able to access the website.

While it’s possible to circumvent the block using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and other tools, as well as compatible wallets that already support trading, it’s likely most users won’t try to circumvent the block.

The crypto news outlet notes that Binance may be blocking users from nearly 30 countries over a case in which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the founder of decentralized exchange EtherDelta with operating an unregistered national securities exchange.

As covered Binance’s DEX has a “transparent and community-driven” listing process. While it doesn’t add every token launched on the Binance Chain the company is likely unable to control security tokens on the exchange. Binance’s goal with its listing process it to facilitate a larger number of crowd-vetted projects, hopefully listing 10x more tokens than currently listed on Binance.com."

The exchange, which was launched earlier this year, already has a $10 million trading volume, although most of it appears to be concentrated on the ONE/BNB trading pair. Other centralized exchanges like OKEx have made it clear they’re also looking to launched decentralized trading platforms, although it’s unclear whether they’ll also block users from specific countries.

Source