Binance to 'Gradually' End Support for BUSD Products

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance said it will "gradually" end support for its BUSD stablecoin, removing it from spot and margin trading pairs.

Users have been asked to convert their BUSD into other assets by February next year in an announcement on Thursday. In the more immediate future, Binance is delisting BUSD as a loanable asset on Sept. 6 and will cease withdrawals of Binance-peg BUSD tokens via BNB Chain, Avalanche, Polygon and Tron on Sept. 7.

A decision to end support for BUSD has been expected since stablecoin issuer Paxos was ordered to stop minting the coin in February. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said at the time that "BUSD will slowly wind down over time," although the timing of the phasing out was unclear. The decision to stop BUSD loans with a weeks' notice suggests those timelines have been pushed forward.

"As Paxos has halted minting of new BUSD, Binance will gradually cease support for BUSD products," Binance said. "Please be assured that BUSD will always be backed 1:1 by USD."

BUSD's 24-hour trading volume is just under $900 million, according to data by CoinMarketCap.

The stablecoin was subject to a regulatory clash after the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)'s February order for Paxos to stop issuing it. Binance was subsequently sued by U.S. regulator the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on allegations that it was offering unregistered crypto derivatives products against federal law.

Earlier this week, signs of a fresh legal clash for the exchange came to light when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) submitted a sealed motion related to Binance, which allows it to file sensitive or confidential information without revealing the contents publicly.

Read More: Visa and Mastercard Distancing Themselves From Binance Unlikely to Hurt the Crypto Exchange: Experts

UPDATE (Aug. 31, 08:57 UTC): Adds context throughout.

UPDATE (Aug. 31, 12:00 UTC): Adds background in third paragraph.