Crypto exchange Binance, the issuer of the world’s 3rd-largest stablecoin, BUSD, said it will convert customers’ holdings in rival stablecoins USD Coin (USDC), Pax Dollar (USDP), and True USD (TUSD) into its own stablecoin (BUSD) on September 29 to “enhance liquidity and capital-efficiency for users.” Meantime, Binance has no plans to “auto-convert” Tether (USDT) to BUSD, though this “may change.”
Moreover, the world’s largest crypto exchange said it will remove spot, future, and margin trading with USDC, USDP, and TUSD pairs.
“This will not affect users’ choice of withdrawal: Users will continue to be able to withdraw funds in USDC, USDP, and TUSD at a 1:1 ratio to their BUSD-denominated account balance,” Binance stated in a blog post on Sept. 5.
Issued by Circle, a $9 billion company backed by BlackRock, Fidelity, FTX, and Accel, USDC is the 2nd-largest stablecoin with a market cap of over $50 billion and over $5.5 billion worth in daily transactions, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
Binance’s own stablecoin, BUSD, currently has a market cap of $19.3 billion. Following the news, its daily volume trades jumped over 56% to $6.5 billion.
Meanwhile, Binance has confirmed it has no plans to “auto-convert” Tether (USDT) to BUSD at the moment, though it noted that this “may change.”
In a statement to Cointelegraph, a Binance spokesperson confirmed there were no immediate plans to do the same to USDT, but noted that this could change.
“We do not have plans to auto-convert USDT to BUSD as of now, but may change,” he stated.
The spokesperson also confirmed that the auto-conversion and move to cease most trading services for USDC is “not a temporary measure,” and that it “will continue.”
Changpeng (CZ) Zhao, Binance CEO, clarified in a tweet on Sept. 6 that the company won’t be de-listing the three stablecoins, but is “just merging all liquidity into one pair,” adding that it will offer the “best price, lowest slippage for users.”