Binance Faces £250m Group Action Over Alleged Unauthorized Crypto Sales
Over 2,700 consumers in England and Wales have joined a group action lawsuit against Binance, a major cryptocurrency trading platform, and its founder Changpeng Zhao. The claim, worth an estimated £250m, alleges that Binance sold high-risk derivative products to UK users without proper authorization from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The FCA banned Binance Markets Limited in June 2021 from carrying out regulated activities in the UK without prior consent. Derivative products are financial contracts used to trade on the performance of an underlying asset, often involving leverage and futures contracts.
The claimants, represented by KP Law, say that Binance knowingly made these complex products available to users in the UK from late 2019/early 2020 through promotional campaigns and online materials. Many retail investors suffered substantial losses, with some losing tens of thousands or even millions of pounds.