Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has been ordered by Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) to stop offering any digital currency services in the country. The regulator said in a notice on Friday that Binance is not authorized to provide any investment services or to operate as a market infrastructure under Belgian law.
The notice also warned Belgian consumers that they should be wary of investing in cryptocurrencies and that they should check whether the platforms they use are registered and supervised by the FSMA. The regulator said that it has received several complaints from Belgian investors who have faced problems with Binance, such as difficulties in withdrawing their funds or accessing their accounts. The regulator also said that Binance does not comply with the rules on consumer protection, market integrity and transparency. The FSMA urged Belgian investors to stay away from Binance and to check its website for a list of unauthorized companies offering crypto services.
Binance has been facing increasing regulatory scrutiny and pressure from various authorities around the world, including in the UK, Japan, Germany, Italy, Thailand, Singapore and Canada. The exchange has said that it is committed to complying with local laws and regulations and that it is working with regulators to address their concerns. Binance has also announced several changes to its platform, such as limiting leverage trading, discontinuing stock tokens and futures products, and enhancing its KYC procedures.
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Binance offers a wide range of services related to cryptocurrencies, such as trading, lending, staking, derivatives, savings, mining and education. The exchange also operates its own blockchain network and issues its own native token, BNB. According to its website, Binance has more than 15 million users globally and supports over 300 cryptocurrencies.
In a different twist, if you are a TUSD user you may have received an email recently that informed you that you can no longer redeem or create new TUSD due to issues with Prime Trust, one of the technology partners of TUSD. I wrote about the implications of incessant minting of TUSD and USDT by platforms.
This email caused some confusion and panic among TUSD users, as they feared that their funds were at risk or that TUSD had lost its dollar peg. In this blog post, we will explain what happened, why it happened, and what you can do about it. On June 10, 2023, TrueUSD announced on Twitter that the minting of TUSD via Prime Trust was paused until further notice. This means that users who wanted to create new TUSD by depositing US dollars or redeem existing TUSD for US dollars through Prime Trust were unable to do so.
The reason for this pause was not disclosed by TrueUSD or Prime Trust, but some speculate that it was related to the recent rumors of insolvency surrounding Prime Trust. Prime Trust is a fintech infrastructure provider based in Nevada that offers custody, payment, and compliance services for various crypto and traditional finance companies.
Prime Trust was also acting as a middleman for Binance.US, holding its customer funds through banking partners amid the debanking of crypto businesses in the United States. Prime Trust is set to be acquired by crypto custodian BitGo in a deal that was announced on June 8. If you are holding this stable coins you might want to consider monitoring and evaluating your portfolio to mitigate against future complications.