Binance Connect Exchange Closure Announcement

Binance Connect, the exchange’s regulated buy-and-sell cryptocurrency platform, will close down on August 16.

Biswap, a decentralized exchange based on the BNB Chain, tweeted on the same day that Binance “has made the difficult decision to disable @Binance_Connect on August 15 due to its provider closing the supporting card payments service.”The Binance representative stated:

“At Binance, we periodically review our products and services to ensure that our resources continue to be focused on core efforts that align with our long-term strategy. In the last six years, Binance has grown from being an exchange to a global blockchain ecosystem with multiple business lines. We consistently adapt and modify our business approach in response to changing market and user needs.”

Binance Connect debuted on March 7, 2022, under the name Bifinity. The service acted as a provider of fiat-to-cryptocurrency remittances, linking crypto firms to the traditional financial system.

At its inception, the platform supported fifty cryptocurrencies in addition to fiat payment methods such as Visa and Mastercard.

The same day, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) expressed concern regarding Bifinity’s provision of a $36 million convertible loan to the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency investment firm Eqonex.

Due to the investment, the FCA stated that certain holders of Bifinity’s parent company, Binance Group, which is unregulated in the United Kingdom, may be deemed beneficiary owners of Eqonex.

Binance Connect is also the fiat-to-cryptocurrency exchange provider for the firm’s Trust portfolio. Binance Australia suspended fiat services in the same month, alleging an issue with a third party.

In June, German authorities denied Binance’s application for a cryptocurrency custody license. In July, the company obtained a crypto broker-dealer license from Dubai authorities.

The exchange is involved in litigation with both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over allegations that it operates an unlicensed exchange in the United States.