Amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding the global banking turmoil, Binance’s U.S.-based affiliate, Binance.US, is suspending some services.
U.S. crypto exchange disabled Binance USD on March 31, according to Binance.US status stablecoins are paired through a common billing system called OCBS.
Affected services include BUSD crypto deposits and withdrawals or buying, selling, and converting crypto options, the status notice said. Binance.US said the company is currently investigating the issue, noting that the service is "temporarily suspended."
The OCBS and BUSD issues on Binance.US came shortly after the company stopped certain USD deposit services on March 30. According to the dashboard, Binance.US is due for the company to “transition to a new banking and payment provider over the next few weeks.” The platform also stopped debit card deposits from March 30, 2023 for as many as 5% of Binance.US customers. "We are working hard to restore all services as quickly as possible," Binance.US said.
The news comes as Binance.US’ global subsidiary, Binance, is facing legal action from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). On March 27, the CFTC filed a lawsuit against Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao “CZ” for alleged trading violations, alleging that the exchange was not registered with the regulator and failed to meet its compliance obligations.
Launched in September 2019, Binance.US is headquartered in California and operates as a separate entity from Binance, which is not available to US users due to local regulations. Catherine Coley, the first CEO of Binance.US, has reportedly hired a former federal prosecutor and top CFTC police officer to represent her in the U.S. government investigation of Binance.US. After leaving Binance.US in June 2021, Coley has kept quiet about her whereabouts in the media and has not posted anything on her Twitter.
