Coinbase Will Suspend Binance USD Trading on March 13, Citing “Listing Standards”

Coinbase, the largest US centralized exchange by volume and a key rival of Binance, will end trading for Binance USD (BUSD) on March 13, as a growing number of cryptocurrency platforms respond to US regulators’ crackdown.

BUSD was launched in September 2019 as a collaboration between Binance and Paxos Trust Company. The Paxos-issued token became the target of both the SEC and the New York Department of Financial Services last month.

Coinbase cited internal review processes as one of the reasons for the decision to delist BUSD. The review determined that BUSD no longer met the exchange’s listing standards, according to a Twitter message. Regulatory pressure has been increasing on stablecoins, making it difficult for exchanges to continue trading them without facing legal risks.

Trading will be suspended from Coinbase.com, Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Exchange and Coinbase Prime. The decision comes two weeks after Paxos said it will stop minting the stablecoin. Users who hold BUSD on Coinbase will need to sell or transfer their tokens before the delisting takes effect.

The SEC reportedly issued a Wells Notice to Paxos informing the company of potential enforcement actions against it for violating federal investor protection laws.

BUSD is the third largest stablecoin by market capitalization after Tether and USD Coin. Coinbase’s own native stablecoin offering is USDC, which is issued in partnership with crypto firm Circle.

BUSD was created to peg to the US dollar, like USDT and USDT. Stablecoins have become increasingly popular in the crypto market because they offer a stable store of value that is not subject to the volatility of other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.