Binance Halts Sterling Deposits and Withdrawals, Impacting Crypto Investors
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has announced the suspension of sterling deposits and withdrawals. The move comes a month after Binance ceased dollar transfers. According to a company spokesperson, Binance’s partner for sterling transfers, Paysafe, has informed them that it will halt its services from May 22, impacting all Binance customers. While new users’ sterling transfers were stopped on Monday, the spokesperson assured that Binance will ensure affected users can still access their GBP balances. The change is expected to affect less than 1% of Binance’s more than 128 million customers, and the company is currently working on finding an alternative solution for sterling transfers.
Binance’s Decline: What Lies Ahead for Cryptocurrency?
It’s worth noting that in 2023, the cryptocurrency market consisted of around 9000 different crypto tokens. However, despite the large number of options available, the top 20 crypto assets accounted for a staggering 90% of the total market capitalization. This highlights the significant influence that the top players hold in the market, with the remaining digital currencies being relatively insignificant in comparison.
In recent months, Binance has faced multiple hurdles in accessing traditional currencies. It suspended all dollar bank transfers last month in response to growing crackdowns on cryptocurrencies by US authorities. The company is currently under investigation by the US Justice Department for possible violations related to money laundering and sanctions. Moreover, the UK’s financial watchdog warned consumers last year that Binance was not authorized to conduct regulated business in the country.
The latest obstacle for Binance comes in the form of the cessation of sterling transfers, which was reported by crypto news outlet The Block. A spokesperson for Skrill, the Paysafe unit that works with Binance, explained that the UK regulatory environment in relation to crypto is too challenging to offer this service at this time and so this is a prudent decision on our part taken in an abundance of caution.
It’s unclear how significant sterling funding is for Binance, as the company does not publicly disclose its finances. Binance has confirmed that it is seeking an alternative solution to resume transactions in sterling and that the change affects less than 1% of its customers. Furthermore, Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, is facing scrutiny from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which recently informed Binance that it is considering taking action against the company when it issued its BUSD stablecoin. This move resulted in around $6 billion in outflows.
Despite the recent decline in Bitcoin’s value, El Salvador has continued to invest in the cryptocurrency. The country has spent $103.6 million to acquire 2,301 units of Bitcoin since September 7, 2021, and its current portfolio valuation stands at $52.3 million. However, there is a possibility that the value may decline further, given the current market trend dominated by red.
According to economist Ahmed Al-Qarout, the decline in Bitcoin is permanent, and the market is experiencing a recovery phase after a period of volatility caused by financial policy changes. Bitcoin’s price reached $68,000 in November 2021, but it has been on a downward trend since then, with only a slight respite in the first quarter of 2022. The end of the quantitative easing era that the Federal Reserve Bank was following, along with its presence in the market, has led to the dumping of cryptocurrency and the allocation of funds to other investment plans. This has resulted in the decline of Bitcoin and other digital currencies. The long-term impact of El Salvador’s investment in Bitcoin remains to be seen.
Before investing, take the time to understand, a little patience can go a long way!
Cryptocurrency Challenges and Opportunities: An Overview of the Market
The cryptocurrency market has experienced a turbulent history, with ups and downs that have caught the attention of investors, financial analysts, and everyday people alike. In 2021, the market experienced losses of over $2.3 trillion due to the US Federal Reserve’s policy of raising interest rates. However, the market made a recovery in the beginning of 2022, gaining 4% in trading and winning $42.6 billion. As a result, the market reached a total value of $1089.6 billion at the beginning of the day.
One of the most well-known cryptocurrencies is Bitcoin, which has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 2009-2010, when its value ranged in cents. As the year ended, Bitcoin’s value approached $50,000, demonstrating its resilience and appeal to investors.
In spite of the growing popularity of digital currencies, many people still do not understand how they work or their value. This lack of understanding can make it difficult for people to invest in cryptocurrencies and participate in this new and exciting market. To address this issue, a report suggests watching movies as the simplest and most entertaining way to learn about cryptocurrencies. The report lists eight movies that shed light on the world of digital currencies, including Bitcoin. These movies combine education and entertainment and can help people learn about the basics of cryptocurrencies and their most important principles.
Besides, one of the key technologies that enables the existence of cryptocurrencies is blockchain. Blockchain is a decentralized ledger of all transactions across a peer-to-peer network. Using this technology, participants can confirm transactions without a need for a central clearing authority. Potential applications can include fund transfers, settling trades, voting, and many other issues.
Blockchain technology has many benefits, including improved transparency, security, and efficiency. Nevertheless, there are also many unknowns associated with blockchain, including regulatory and legal issues that must be addressed as the technology becomes more widely used.
As well, Blockchain has potential applications far beyond bitcoin and cryptocurrency. From a business perspective, it is helpful to think of blockchain technology as a type of next-generation business process improvement software. Collaborative technology, such as blockchain, promises the ability to improve the business processes that occur between companies, radically lowering the “cost of trust.” For this reason, it may offer significantly higher returns for each investment dollar spent than most traditional internal investments.
Financial institutions are exploring how they could use blockchain technology to upend everything from clearing and settlement to insurance. There are many changes occurring in the financial services industry, and understanding blockchain knowledge is becoming increasingly important.
In conclusion, while the frequency of blockchain announcements may have slowed down in recent years, the potential benefits of this technology make it an area of great interest for the financial services industry. Despite this, Skrill’s decision to suspend sterling transactions and transfers from Binance highlights the challenges and uncertainties that still exist in the UK regulatory environment regarding cryptocurrencies. The FCA’s warning to consumers about Binance’s lack of permission to offer regulated services in the UK further underscores the need for greater clarity and oversight in this rapidly evolving sector.
As a Canadian businessman, Changpeng Zhao once said, “If you can’t hold, you can’t be rich”.
