Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will stop offering borrowing and lending services for Binance USD (BUSD), its stablecoin.
The exchange will close all open BUSD loan and collateral positions by the end of the month, according to the notice from October 3. Stablecoins like Tether USDT (tickers down $1.00), Dai, TrueUSD (TUSD), and USD Coin (USDC $1.00) would still be accepted for borrowing and lending by users on Binance.
Users can lend their BUSD on Binance for an estimated 3% annual interest. It was stated on August 31 that Binance would discontinue all BUSD stablecoin-related services by 2024.
The BUSD stablecoin’s issuer, New York-based fintech company Paxos, had announced on February 13 that it was severing connections with Binance due to the latter’s continuing legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Paxos stated that new BUSD coinage would be suspended temporarily and that redemptions from BUSD to the underlying U.S. cash and Treasuries would cease in February 2024.
BUSD was one of the biggest stablecoins prior to the termination notice, attaining a peak market valuation of $23 billion in November 2022. At the time of publication, it had dropped to $2.23 billion.
BUSD and associated services were terminated piecemeal. Last month, the exchange halted BUSD withdrawals through the Ethereum network but continued to allow them through BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon, Tron, and Optimism.
However, BUSD deposits are still accepted across all blockchains, and the exchange advises users to trade their BUSD balances for fiat money or another cryptocurrency by the end of the year.
