Binance faces £250m group action over alleged unauthorised crypto sales

More than 1,000 consumers in England and Wales have joined a group action legal claim against crypto trading platform Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao ('CZ'), the first of its kind in the UK. The claim now represents around 2,700 consumers.

The claim was originally filed in the High Court in London this past June, and is brought on behalf of consumers who traded cryptocurrency derivative products on the Binance.com crypto platform. The total value of the claims issued to date is estimated to be in excess of £250m, with an eventual total claim expected to be significantly larger.

Represented by group action law firm specialists KP Law, the individuals bringing this claim say Binance sold a number of high-risk, complex derivative and leveraged products to UK-based users of the platform without authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned Binance Markets Limited in June 2021 from carrying out any regulated activities in the UK without prior written consent from the regulator. The UK regulator is expected to open its authorisation gateway for the UK's new crypto asset regime on September 30, 2026.

Derivative products are financial contracts between two parties which are used to trade on the performance of an underlying asset. They are commonly used by financial professions to hedge against risk or in market speculation. The products which are the subject of the claim were allegedly not ordinary crypto investments based on a straightforward market price, but instead may have offered consumers far higher levels of risk or reward based on movements in the value of the underlying cryptocurrencies. These products often allegedly involved the use of leverage (trading using borrowed money) to amplify gains or losses, and futures and options contracts, which supposedly allowed users to speculate on the future prices of cryptocurrencies.

The claim argues that Binance, which has over 300 million customers globally, knowingly made these products available to users of the platform in the UK from late 2019/early 2020. Binance were said to have promoted the sale of these products on their platform through promotional campaigns, online materials, social media posts, and email communications.

The claimants contend that these complex products are specified investments within the scope of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). Only authorised persons or exempt persons were permitted to sell these products to UK consumers, and the claimants believe that Binance was neither authorised nor exempt.

The claimants are all retail investors based in England and Wales, and are not professional investors. Many suffered substantial losses as a result of transactions placed with Binance, losing tens of thousands and in some cases millions of pounds. For many, the losses were life-changing, with an enormous impact on their day-to-day lives and causing significant mental strain.

Hannah Sharp, partner at KP Law, said: "It is public knowledge that Binance have failed to cooperate with regulators. That's why their UK group company, Binance Markets Limited, was barred from regulated activity in the United Kingdom in 2021. Sadly, this prohibition did not stop Binance from selling our clients crypto derivative products we allege they were not at the time authorised to sell in this market. And so, we will be watching closely as the FCA considers Binance's expected application for a UK cryptocurrency licence."