Binance Shocks Crypto World: USD Bank Transfers Temporarily Halted

• Binance announced that it is suspending US dollar withdrawals and deposits for international customers beginning February 8.
• The move only applies to non-U.S. customers who transfer money to or from bank accounts in dollars and not those who use other methods of buying and selling crypto.
• Signature Bank and Silvergate are the two biggest crypto banks, both of which have received billions in loans from the Federal Home Loan Banks following the collapse of FTX.

Binance Announces Temporary Halt On US Bank Transfers

Binance has announced that it is temporarily suspending US dollar withdrawals and deposits for international customers beginning February 8th. Other transfer methods will not be affected, however, this impacts a small proportion of users. The exchange did not provide additional details but said they “are working hard to restart the service as soon as possible.”

Impact on Non-US Customers

The suspension applies only to non-U.S. customers who transfer money to or from bank accounts in dollars, while other methods of buying and selling crypto remain unaffected. As such, this move does not affect Binance US which is regulated by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Reason Behind Suspension

Binance has been facing banking challenges in the United States since last month when its banking partner Signature Bank raised transaction minimums for dollar transfers to $100,000 for users with USD bank accounts. In response, Binance said it was “actively seeking” a new partner to process its SWIFT payments instead.

Signature Bank & Silvergate Crypto Banks Impacted

Signature Bank and Silvergate are two of the largest crypto banks operating today however; they were hit hard by last year’s crypto meltdown resulting in around $2 trillion worth of value being wiped out from the market altogether. To cope with these losses each bank have received billions in loans from the Federal Home Loan Banks designed originally to support housing finance and community investment following FTX’s collapse.

Conclusion

As mentioned above this suspension affects only a small minority of Binance’s users while they work towards restoring their services as soon as possible via their search for a new banking partner that can provide quality services at an affordable cost without compromising customer experience or security standards set forth by FinCEN regulations