Breaking: Binance.US suspends USD deposits, warns of fiat withdrawal pause

Binance.US said the moves are part of efforts to protect customers and the platform amid “extremely aggressive and intimidating tactics” by the SEC.

Binance.US has announced the suspension of U.S. dollar deposits and has notified its customers of an incoming pause to fiat (USD) withdrawal channels as early as June 13.

On June 9, Binance.US announced that it was forced to take action amid “extremely aggressive and intimidating tactics” from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

The firm noted that, in an effort to protect its customers and platform, it is suspending USD deposits. Furthermore, Binance.US is “notifying customers that our banking partners are preparing to pause fiat (USD) withdrawal channels as early as June 13, 2023.”

The SEC has taken to using extremely aggressive and intimidating tactics in its pursuit of an ideological campaign against the American digital asset industry. https://t.co/AZwoBOgsqS and our business partners have not been spared in the use of these tactics, which has created… pic.twitter.com/rlIe6swIoY

— Binance.US (@BinanceUS) June 9, 2023

The company added that it plans to transition to a crypto-only exchange but maintains a 1:1 ratio for customer assets.

The notice also cautioned that any downtime in processing withdrawals going forward “may be the result of elevated volumes and weekend bank closures.”

Trading, staking, deposits and withdrawals in crypto remain fully operational, it confirmed.

As a result of the SEC’s “ideological campaign against the American digital asset industry,” Binance.US and its banking partners have faced increasing challenges, it said. Those banking partners have signaled their intent to sever fiat on-ramps to the exchange.

USD deposits will be suspended as of June 9 and USD trading pairs will be delisted next week, the firm stated, however, it will continue to support USDT (Tether) trading pairs. It stated that any USD left on the exchange may be converted into a stablecoin that can be withdrawn on-chain.

Binance.US delisted ten trading pairs on June 8, eight BTC pairs and two BUSD pairs, while noting that OTC Trading Portal services were paused. BTC traded at a premium on the U.S. exchange in early May. 

Related: Buying a bank won’t solve crypto’s debanking issue — Binance CEO

The SEC issued an emergency order on June 6 to freeze the assets of Binance.US. The following day, the firm reassured customers that assets remained safe adding that the platform continues to be fully operational with deposits and withdrawals functioning as normal.

Cointelegraph reported on the struggles Binance.US was having securing banking partners in April.

Magazine: Crypto regulation: Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?