Binance Will Cease Support for Its BUSD Stablecoin on Dec. 15

Binance said it will end support for its BUSD stablecoin on Dec. 15, following the exchange's August announcement that it would “gradually” do so after Paxos, the company that actually issued it, was ordered to stop minting the coin in February.

Users will still be able to redeem their BUSD until February 2024, Binance said in a blog post Wednesday. However, Binance said it would halt withdrawals on Dec. 31 and any remaining BUSD balances will at that point be automatically converted to FDUSD, a stablecoin issued by FD121 Ltd.

BUSD’s current 24-hour trading volume is just under $400 million, according to data by CoinMarketCap. It was around $900 million in August.

Binance’s stablecoin came under regulatory scrutiny in February after the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) ordered Paxos to stop issuing it. Shortly after, Binance was sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for allegedly offering unregistered crypto derivative products in the U.S. and violating federal law.

The exchange’s new CEO, Richard Teng, who succeeded founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao earlier this month as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S., recently wrote in a blog post that he is committed to working with regulators and ensuring that the exchange complies with American laws.