[1/2] The Binance US logo is seen on a platform during the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami Beach, Florida, US, April 6, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
June 8 (Reuters) – U.S. cryptocurrency trading platform Binance said on Thursday it will suspend U.S. dollar deposits and its banking partners are preparing to pause channels for mandatory dollar withdrawals as early as June 13, just days after U.S. regulators filed a lawsuit against Binance. and CEO Changpeng Zhao.
The US arm of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange said in a tweet at 10:33 PM ET (0233 GMT) Thursday that the move comes as it is taking “proactive steps” in its transition to a cryptocurrency-only exchange just in time. Present. .
The exchange said in a notice to its clients that trading, deposits and withdrawals in cryptocurrencies will remain fully operational.
On Monday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance and its founder, Zhao, and a day later, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, Coinbase (COIN.O).
The developments mark a dramatic escalation of a crackdown on the industry by US regulators, following the collapse of FTX last year.
Earlier Thursday, US financial regulators said they were in favor of freezing Binance’s assets, as filed and made public by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in a federal court.
“Binance.US is a much smaller company than its international conglomerate. Clearly halting withdrawals would create or incite a great deal of anxiety and panic,” said Matthew Dib, COO of Singaporean crypto platform Stack Funds.
“But day in and day out in the past week, Binance has been hit with different kinds of comments and issues from the SEC and regulators, so this was really expected.”
Binance.US said in a tweet that the US Securities and Exchange Commission in dealing with cryptocurrencies is “extremely aggressive and intimidating,” adding that it has created challenges between the exchange and its banking partners.
“This is going to be a long battle, it won’t be resolved in the next two or three months, and it will likely take a few years,” Depp said.
Additional reporting by Rai Wei in Singapore and Rahat Sandhu in Bengaluru; Editing by Dania Ann Thuble and Shri Navaratnam
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