Binance.US says that it will be halting US dollar deposits and withdrawals in response to being sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In a new announcement, Binance.US says it will temporarily become a crypto-only exchange platform due to the SEC’s “ideological campaign” against the US digital asset industry.
“The SEC has taken to using extremely aggressive and intimidating tactics in its pursuit of an ideological campaign against the American digital asset industry. Binance.US and our business partners have not been spared in the use of these tactics, which has created challenges for the banks with whom we work.
As a result, in an effort to protect our customers and platform, today we are suspending USD deposits and notifying customers that our banking partners are preparing to pause fiat (USD) withdrawal channels as early as June 13, 2023. We encourage customers to take appropriate action with their USD. Our priority is, and has always been, our customers.
We are taking these proactive steps as we – for a time – transition to a crypto-only exchange. To be clear, we maintain 1:1 reserves for all customer assets.”
The SEC first sued Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange platform by volume, earlier this week alleging that the firm was violating securities laws. Just day later, the regulatory agency also filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, the top crypto exchange in the US, for similar reasons.
Binance.US says that it will remain open for crypto trading, staking and deposits as normal and will continue to defend against the SEC’s “meritless” attacks.
According to the firm, customers who wish to withdraw their USD should do so by June 13.
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