Coinbase disables trading for BUSD

US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced the suspension of trading for the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin on March 13 via Twitter.

We have disabled trading for Binance USD (BUSD). Your BUSD funds will remain accessible to you, and you will continue to have the ability to withdraw your funds at any time. https://t.co/jfpCZX7UTC

— Coinbase Assets (@CoinbaseAssets) March 13, 2023

On Feb 27, Coinbase cited “listing standards” as the reason behind its decision to disable trading for BUSD on March 13. The February announcement read;

We regularly monitor the assets on our exchange to ensure they meet our listing standards. Based on our most recent reviews, Coinbase will suspend trading for Binance USD (BUSD) on March 13, 2023, on or around 12pm ET.

According to Coinbase’s Feb 27 Twitter thread, the decision to disable trading for BUSD will apply to Coinbase.com (simple and advanced), Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Exchange and Coinbase Prime. On March 13 Coinbase assured its customers “ Your BUSD funds will remain accessible to you, and you will continue to have the ability to withdraw your funds at any time.”

On Feb 27, when Coinbase intitally announced it’s intention to disable trading for BUSD on March 13, a Coinbase spokesperson explained Cointelegraph:

“Our determination to suspend trading for BUSD is based on our own internal monitoring and review processes. When reviewing BUSD, we determined that it no longer met our listing standards and will be suspended.”

On March 8, Coinbase introduced a new business solution called wallet-as-a-service (WaaS) to assist enterprises in offering Web3 wallets to their customers. The WaaS provides customizable on-chain wallets through technical infrastructure, enabling enterprises to create and launch these wallets. Additionally, the wallet application programming interface (API) provided by WaaS allows businesses to create wallets for simple customer onboarding, loyalty programs or in-game purchases.

On March 11, Coinbase assured its customers that its staking services will continue and “may actually increase,” despite the recent crackdown by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on staking services offered by centralized providers.