Coinbase disables trading for BUSD

United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced on March 13 that it had suspended trading for the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin.

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

In its initial Feb. 27 announcement, Coinbase cited “listing standards” as being behind its decision. 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 applies to Coinbase.com (simple and advanced), Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Exchange and Coinbase Prime. On March 13, Coinbase assured its customers that “your BUSD funds will remain accessible to you, and you will continue to have the ability to withdraw your funds at any time.”

A Coinbase spokesperson explained to Cointelegraph at the time:

“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.”

Related: Coinbase CEO ponders banking features after Silicon Valley Bank crisis

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. WaaS provides customizable on-chain wallets through technical infrastructure, enabling enterprises to create and launch these wallets. Additionally, the wallet application programming interface provided by WaaS allows businesses to create wallets for simple customer onboarding, loyalty programs or in-game purchases.

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