Lucy Jane 
Binance.US Offers Discounted Bitcoin
Bitcoin is available at a discount of nearly $3,000 on Binance.US, which is significantly better than global spot prices; however, there is one catch.
On July 9, many crypto users observed a widening price disparity between cryptocurrencies listed on U.S. crypto exchanges and their global spot prices, with many referring to this phenomenon as a “depeg” of cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin is trading at $27,536 against the U.S. dollar on the exchange, representing a discount of approximately 8.5% compared to global spot USD prices of $30,106 at the time of writing.
Other cryptocurrencies also trade at a discount relative to the U.S. dollar. On Binance, Ethereum prices are approximately $200 cheaper.
As of the time of writing, the US dollar was worth $1,695 per unit. On the exchange, some stablecoins, including USDT, were trading below their respective pegs, with Tether at $0.915.
Even though crypto discounts appear alluring to arbitragers, most investors cannot exploit them.
This is because the discount only applies when a cryptocurrency is exchanged for USD fiat on a cryptocurrency exchange.
The issue is with Binance. Since the platform’s suspension on June 9, U.S. users have been unable to deposit new U.S. dollars.
This effectively means that the discounted cryptocurrencies can only be purchased with USD already in the account before the suspensions.
Worries that Binance.US will soon halt USD withdrawals, which has also led to some users trading their cryptocurrencies below market value in order to exit their positions in USD.
According to a Twitter-circulated email from Binance.US to customers, the last day for USD withdrawals will be July 20.
In late May, the Australian branch of Binance experienced a similar situation involving the Australian dollar when the company’s third-party payments provider shut down fiat on and off ramps.
Compared to global spot prices, the price of Bitcoin on Binance fell 20% when traded against the Australian dollar.
