Binance.US Suspends U.S. Dollar Deposits
The U.S. affiliate of the largest global crypto exchange has suspended dollar deposits as it expects banks to cut off transactions after it was sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week.
Key Takeaways
- Binance.US has suspended U.S. dollar deposits.
- Binance.US’s banking partners have also indicated they will stop processing withdrawals on behalf of the exchange as early as June 13.
- Customers who are unable to make a U.S. dollar withdrawal before Binance.US’s banking partners stop processing withdrawals may have their funds converted to a stablecoin.
- The exchange will rely solely on crypto assets for deposits, withdrawals, trading, and staking until new, “more stable” banking partners are found.
Impact on Binance.US Customers
According to Binance.US, the decision to suspend deposits made via U.S. dollars is an attempt to protect their customers. Additionally, the crypto exchange said their banking partners are expected to suspend avenues for U.S. dollar withdrawals from the platform as early as June 13.
“We encourage customers to withdraw their USD via bank transfer (ACH) by June 13, 2023. Due to elevated volumes and weekend bank closures, ACH withdrawals may take longer than the usual process (e.g. up to several days),” the exchange tweeted.
Binance.US maintains all customer assets are safe, and deposits and withdrawals will remain active via crypto, as the exchange will operate on a crypto-only basis until new banking partners can be found. Trading and staking services will continue to operate normally.
Customers who are unable to get their U.S. dollars off of the platform in time may have those funds converted to a stablecoin, which would allow that money to be withdrawn from the exchange. U.S. dollar-denominated trading pairs will start being delisted next week.
Binance, its founder Changpeng Zhao and its affiliate Binance.US were subject to an SEC lawsuit earlier this week for knowingly operating an unregistered securities exchange. The SEC subsequently filed the emergency brief to freeze Binance’s assets in order to protect U.S. investors.
Binance.US called SEC’s recent actions against Binance, its affiliates, Coinbase, Bittrex, and others “extremely aggressive” and “a campaign against the American digital asset industry.”