Binance cryptocurrency exchange has declared that as of December 15, it will no longer support all Binance USD (BUSD) products, and all Binance USD balances will automatically be converted into First Digital USD starting on Dec. 31.
Binance informed users on November 29 that they must convert or withdraw their existing BUSD on the exchange into alternative assets by December 15. As of December 31, Binance will discontinue BUSD withdrawals. Certain users will have their current balances converted automatically to First Digital USD (FDUSD) at that juncture.
Binance has recently concluded operations for its native stablecoin with this action. The exchange declared its intention to phase out support for BUSD until February 2024, beginning in October with the cessation of stablecoin borrowing and lending services.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission indicated in a February Wells notice to Paxos, the stablecoin’s issuer, that BUSD was an unregistered security. In a separate directive, the New York Department of Financial Services instructed Paxos to cease the production of BUSD.
U.S. authorities announced on November 21 that Binance and erstwhile CEO Changpeng Zhao had reached a settlement mandating the payment of $4.3 billion. As part of the settlement, Zhao resigned as CEO, and Richard Teng, the exchange’s director of regional markets, assumed his responsibilities.
BUSD was among the most valuable stablecoins in market capitalization before August 2022, peaking at over $23.3 billion. The market capitalization of the stablecoin was approximately $1.7 billion at the time of publication, having declined by over 92% in the preceding twelve months.
