Binance.US, the US subsidiary of the major cryptocurrency exchange Binance, updated its terms of use on the 16th to suspend users' withdrawals of US dollars.
This measure follows the suspension of US dollar deposits announced in June this year. The terms of use explain that if you want to withdraw US dollars, you can do so by exchanging them for stable coins or other crypto assets.
When Binance.US suspended US dollar deposits in June, it stated that the reason was that "channels with banks will be suspended." It also called on users to refrain from making withdrawals as early as June 13th.
The reason behind the partner bank's suspension of deposit and withdrawal channels with Binance.US was a request by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to freeze assets.
In June, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance.US, Binance itself, and its CEO CZ (Changpeng Zhao) on 13 charges, including violations of securities laws. As part of this, the SEC told Binance US, "In light of the long-standing violations that have ignored U.S. law, it is necessary to prevent the dispersal of assets."
The SEC subsequently agreed with Binance US to withdraw its request to freeze assets, but in light of this move, it is expected that the exchange will have difficulty finding a new, ongoing banking partner.
In addition, the updated terms and conditions also state that customer accounts and assets are no longer covered by the USD FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) insurance. This means that in the event of Binance US going bankrupt, customer assets may not be protected.
Binance US is prepared to continue fighting the SEC to the end, but this move can also be seen as a sign of Binance's withdrawal from the U.S. market. As the SEC tightens its grip on cryptocurrency-related companies, attention will continue to be focused on future developments.
Reference:Terms of Use
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