Binance to Halt Accepting New UK Customers

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California Governor Officially Signs Crypto Licensing Bill

LayerZero to Simplify Cross-Chain NFT Swaps With New Product

Binance UK to Halt Onboarding New Customers

Gavin Newsom Signs Crypto Licensing Bill:

• California's Governor Gavin Newsom has signed the Digital Financial Assets Law, a crypto licensing bill aiming to regulate the digital asset industry in the state. The legislation will become operational in the summer of 2025.

• The new law has drawn parallels with New York's BitLicense, requiring businesses in the crypto space to obtain state regulatory approval. Historically, New York's legislation faced significant criticism when introduced in 2022.

• California's bill mandates digital asset businesses to acquire a regulatory license, aligning its operational standards with those of banks and money transmitters. Additionally, there's a provision for businesses to obtain a license from the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI). The new licensing framework provides an 18-month implementation period for businesses to adapt.

LayerZero’s ‘Gas Station’ to Simplify Cross-Chain NFT Swaps:

• LayerZero has launched a "gas abstraction" tool named "Gas Station" for smoother cross-chain NFT transactions. This aligns with the integration of the NFT marketplace, Magic Eden, allowing traders to buy and sell Omnichain non-fungible tokens (ONFTs) on platforms like Ethereum and Polygon, with more chains to be added soon.

• Irene Wu, LayerZero's head of strategy, highlighted that Gas Station offers a decentralized solution to simplify the NFT purchase process. It allows users to exchange gas tokens upfront, eliminating the need for centralized exchanges to swap or borrow tokens.

• Cross-chain NFTs are becoming vital in the gaming sector. They enable assets and currency to move across networks or offer a chain-agnostic user experience, emphasizing the current focus on interoperability among NFT creators and gaming studios.

Binance UK to Stop Accepting New Customers (Temporarily):

• Following the UK regulator's action against its partner firm, Rebuilding Society, Binance UK will halt the registration of new UK users and restrict access to new products or services for existing members. Current services, however, remain unaffected.

• Binance has been in discussions with the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) concerning its partnership with Rebuilding Society. The FCA recently initiated enforcement of new crypto promotion regulations, issuing warnings and actions against multiple entities.

• In its push to regulate crypto promotions, the FCA has targeted over 140 companies since the enforcement of new regulations, aiming to curtail unlawful crypto financial advertising in the UK.

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