Key takeaways:
- As of March 13th, Coinbase will stop trading Binance USD.
- The exchange has cited the stablecoin’s inability to satisfy listing requirements as the cause.
- Experts believe that Coinbase’s move to stop trading BUSD is likely an effort to evade regulatory scrutiny.
Customers of cryptocurrency platform Coinbase were informed that trading for Binance USD would be stopped in less than a month.
Beginning March 13, Binance USD (BUSD) transactions will no longer be available on Coinbase. Since BUSD/USD is the only combination allowed in some jurisdictions as of February 17, 2023, the exchange does not currently offer any crypto trading pairs with BUSD.
The business announced on Twitter that trading in this token will be stopped on Coinbase.com, Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Exchange, and Coinbase Prime.BUSD assets will still be available to users, according to the exchange, and they can still make withdrawals whenever they want.
This comes two weeks after Paxos Trust announced it would cease minting the stable coin because of legal constraints. Paxos Trust has owned and operated BUSD since its launch in 2019.
However, a few days ago, there were indications that Paxos was having “productive” discussions with the US SEC regarding the BUSD.
In the domain of crypto exchanges, Binance and Coinbase are fierce competitors. According to CoinMarketCap, the former is presently the largest exchange by trading volume, while the other is ranked second.
According to reports from the second week of February, BUSD withdrawals from Binance also increased as a result of the Paxos SEC investigation.
On the basis of “rigorous vetting/review process that assesses assets against legal, compliance, and technological security standards,” according to Coinbase’s website, its digital asset listings group ballots on assets to be listed on the exchange. To make sure an asset keeps up with standards, there are also extra business evaluations and continuous assessment.
Suspending trading is a great possibility for Coinbase to take a step the SEC will welcome provided the mounting scrutiny BUSD is experiencing, especially given the low volume of BUSD on the exchange.
“Our decision to suspend trading for BUSD is focused on our own internal monitoring and review processes,” a spokesperson said. “BUSD will be suspended,” he continued, “because it no longer complies with our listing requirements.”