Key Insights
- Binance is ending support for the BUSD stablecoin by 2024.
- The move follows a series of issues, including withdrawal of funds and asset buybacks.
- Binance shifted focus to other stablecoins like Tether and alternative options due to legal problems and competition.
After a series of legal proceedings, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance has decided to stop supporting the BUSD stablecoin.
According to the official statement, the exchange will stop supporting BUSD in 2024. The use of the once popular dollar stablecoin on the platform will be phased out until its issuer Paxos completes the coin buyback.
Binance is getting rid of BUSD
BUSD faced problems for the first time after the collapse of the notorious FTX crypto exchange. Rumors that Binance would become a new target for the US Department of Justice prompted a net withdrawal of $3.6 billion over seven days and asset buybacks by market makers, including more than $245 million from Jump Finance.
In February, BUSD issuer Paxos announced it would cease minting new tokens, citing an order from government regulator the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). On the same day, media reports emerged that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was preparing to sue Paxos for offering unregistered securities.
The most recent blow came as a result of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Binance on June 5th. At the center of the controversy this time was the exchange’s offering of unregistered securities, including the platform’s native token BNB and BUSD.
At the time of writing, BUSD is still in the top 5 stablecoins by market cap. However, the chances that he will be able to regain his former popularity tend to zero.
Binance has switched to other stablecoins
Binance launched BUSD in 2019. Thanks to the support of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, the stablecoin managed to reach a market capitalization of $1 billion in just 261 days. A year later, 97 trading pairs with BUSD were registered on the platform, and at the peak their number exceeded 300.
However, amid legal problems and the growing dominance of Tether, the crypto exchange changed course regarding BUSD. In August, Binance removed a number of BUSD spot trading pairs. In addition, during the latest Binance Launchpool events, the exchange gave preference to alternative stablecoins TUSD and First Digital USD (FDUSD).
However, BUSD is not the only stablecoin that has faced problems this year. Thus, the capitalization of USDC from Circle decreased from $44.6 billion in January to $26.17 billion at the end of August. And the market value of the algorithmic stablecoin DAI from MakerDAO dropped from a March peak of $6.43 billion to $5.36 billion.
USDT, meanwhile, continues to break new records. Tether accounts for almost 70% of the stablecoin market, and its capitalization exceeds $83 billion.