Binance, OKX And ByBit, Remove USDT And USDC As Assets Trading On Their Platforms
JAKARTA - Major cryptocurrency exchanges continue to take action after FTX's collapse. Now they are stopping deposits at Solana-based Tether.
Binance announced on November 17 that Solana-based USDT and USDC deposits had been "delayed temporarily until further notice" on the platform.
The exchange calls the tokens "USDT (SOL)" and "USDC (SOL)," as USDT and USDC stablecoins remain available for storage via other blockchains.
Binance did not provide further information about the measure, adding that it was "in power of its own policy to amend or cancel this announcement at any time and for whatever reason without prior notice." The company then continued the deposit for Solana-USDT.
Other exchanges such as OKX and ByBit have also removed Solana-based stablecoins for deposits. OKX suspended their deposits at 11:00 UTC on November 17, while ByBit reportedly also disabled the deposit on November 17.
According to on-chain data, Solana-USDC supply is 62% larger than Solana-USDT supply. The total amount of USDC circulating on Solana is USDC (approximately USD 5 billion), or 11% of total token market capitalization as reported by Cointelegraph.
Solana-based total USDT reached 1.9 billion tokens (1.9 billion US dollars), or only about 1.3% of USDT's total market cap.
The USDC's Circle publisher then took to Twitter to state that the USDC in Solana was operating as usual and there was no problem with issuance or exchange of stablecoins. "USDCs can always be redeemed 1 in 1 for the US dollar. Any amount. At any time. Free. Always," added the company.
Solana is a decentralized blockchain with the associated cryptocurrency, SOL, which has been linked to a close relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange, FTX. Bankman-Fried itself was a early investor at Solana through Alameda Research. Amid the ongoing FTX crisis, SOL has slumped alongside Token FTX and other related coins.
Solana-based suspension of USDT and USDC has sparked even more red figures for SOL, with cryptocurrencies dropping 7% due to this latest news. At the time of writing, SOL was trading at $13.1, down about 60% over the past 30 days, according to CoinGecko.
The news comes as soon as Binance announces plans to remove USDC as a trading asset from its platform. The exchange allows USDC deposits but automatically turns them into internal stablecoins, Binance USD (BUSD).