Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange globally, announced on Monday that they would stop accepting U.S. dollar deposits and withdrawals without specifying the cause behind this move.
A spokesperson for Binance informed CNBC that they would temporarily halt USD bank transfers starting on February 8th. The affected customers have been informed directly. Binance stated that only a small fraction (0.01%) of their monthly active users utilize USD bank transfers. They also mentioned that they are making efforts to resume the service soon.
DefiLlama’s data shows that Binance’s net loss in U.S. dollars was more than $172 million for the day. Despite this, the company still holds a substantial amount of cryptocurrency assets worth $42.2 billion, as reported by Arkham.
A spokesperson for Binance stated that despite the outflow, the company is still experiencing a positive net deposit. The outflows tend to increase when the market levels off after a bullish swing, as some users take their profits. This trend was observed last week, following Bitcoin’s rise of 38% in January, which was its best month since October 2021.
The suspension announcement did not significantly impact the Binance exchange token (BNB), which remained stable at around $328.
In January, Binance announced that Signature Bank, its U.S. banking partner, had raised the minimum U.S. dollar transaction amount to $100,000. Binance claimed that Signature informed them that this new minimum applied to all crypto exchange customers.
When asked about the recent suspension of U.S. dollar transactions, a representative from Binance told CNBC via email that Binance US has its banking partners and is not affected by the issue. The main Binance exchange does not cater to U.S. customers.
Binance assured customers that they could still use other currencies or alternative payment methods to purchase cryptocurrencies. Binance said they would announce a new partner for the small group affected by the suspension in the next few weeks.
