Binance.US Enters into Partnership with MoonPay to Restore Dollar Transactions
Following a period of uncertainty with its banking partners, Binance.US, the American arm of the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange, has now strengthened its dollar on-ramp by collaborating with MoonPay, a crypto payments startup. This development comes after Binance.US's decision to transition into a crypto-only platform.
Following its transition to a crypto-only platform a couple of months ago, Binance.US is now announcing a partnership with MoonPay, a crypto payment company. This integration will enable users to purchase Tether, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, facilitating its use within the Binance.US ecosystem. “We’ve replaced USD with USDT, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, as our new base asset for transactions”, the blog post says.
Back in early June, Binance.US halted USD deposits, attributing the decision to issues with its banking partners. This action came on the heels of what it described as "forceful and intimidating tactics" from the SEC, which had filed a lawsuit against the company for alleged violations and attempted asset freezes.
With the new MoonPay integration, users can directly fund their Binance.US mobile wallets with USDT, allowing them to bypass traditional banking structures entirely. Notably, transactions via MoonPay come with an assurance of speed, as Binance.US mentioned, “On average, verification takes just 60 seconds to process”. Once the conversion is complete, users can effortlessly deposit the stablecoins into their Binance.US accounts, from which they can trade for a diverse range of cryptocurrencies.
Additionally, MoonPay will also facilitate users in converting their cryptocurrency holdings into cash. Binance.US revealed in its blog post that the minimum sell order value for this conversion is set at $30.
On June 23, the exchange encountered problems related to USD-denominated withdrawals, but the functionality was temporarily restored. However, Binance.US did caution that this service would be discontinued in the near future. For over a month, Binance.US customers have been unable to deposit or withdraw U.S. dollars due to the severing of ties with its banking partners. Binance, being the largest cryptocurrency exchange globally, has experienced significant challenges.
In June, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao for alleged securities trading violations. The legal document indicated that the commission categorized the BNB token, along with the Binance-branded stablecoin BUSD, as securities.
Furthermore, the SEC demanded the freezing of assets related to Binance's American division. The exchange countered that the regulator's demand was baseless and unrelated to safeguarding user funds, a concern cited by the SEC as the rationale behind its petition.
Changpeng Zhao Binance Binance.US
