Exchange Announcements
Binance.US Pauses USD Deposits as it Transitions to Crypto-Only Exchange
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The piling troubles around Binance have taken a turn for the worse with its US-serving entity Binance.US notifying customers of an immediate suspension of USD deposits to the platform.
In a late Thursday notice, Binance.US said the decision to halt deposits was compelled by the latest events concerning its bank partners who plan on pausing US dollar payments next week. The exchange laid the woe involving its business partners at the SEC's doors, specifically faulting the US securities regulator for “using extremely aggressive and intimidating tactics” to push a campaign against the digital asset industry in the US.
“In an effort to protect our customers and platform, today we are suspending USD deposits and notifying customers that our banking partners are preparing to pause fiat (USD) withdrawal channels as early as June 13, 2023,” the Binance.US team advised on Twitter.
The exchange assured customers that assets remain safe but noted there could be downtime in processing ACH withdrawals due to potential heightened volumes and bank closures during the weekend. Users can still access their balances held on the platform in USD beyond June 15 but will only be able to withdraw them by swapping them for stablecoins. Binance.US also notified customers that it plans to delist crypto-USD pairs on its platforms while retaining the corresponding Tether stablecoin pairs.
The US SEC has retaken aim at crypto exchanges in the latest major enforcement action this week. On Monday, the markets watchdog filed a lawsuit against Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao before separately filing a complaint against Coinbase on Tuesday. The Gensler-led body also asked a federal judge to issue a temporary restraining order freezing certain assets tied to Binance.US on the same day with both sides meeting again in court on June 13. In March, federal judge Jennifer Rearden, of the Southern District of New York, granted the government's emergency motion from the DoJ that effectively suspended the sale of Voyager Digital to Binance.US. The sale had earlier been approved but federal regulators objected to it.
Thursday's announcement of suspending fiat follows a separate update on the scope of assets affected by a planned mass delisting. The exchange initially said it will effectively delist around 100 trading pairs (almost a third of trading pairs) on the platform on Wednesday before restricting the scope to only 10 pairs.
“Following community feedback, Binance.US will no longer remove any USDT Advanced Trading pairs. All cryptocurrencies and USDT pairs remain available to trade. Only select BTC and BUSD Advanced Trading pairs below will be removed,” the exchange said in the updated news release.
Binance.US has been facing problems on the banking front since April when WSJ reported that the US affiliate of the largest crypto exchange was struggling to secure a bank to handle its customers’ cash after the shutdown of Signature Bank and the bankruptcy of Silvergate which dealt the exchange's operation a huge blow. People familiar with the situation said the exchange unsuccessfully attempted to establish a direct banking relationship with New Jersey-based lender Cross River Bank and Pennsylvania-based regional bank Customers Bancorp.
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