Paxos Cuts Ties With Binance Following Regulatory Concerns
Paxos, the company behind the BUSD stablecoin, has ended its partnership with Binance, alleging a divergence of strategic interests. Paxos is now in talks with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over a recent Wells notification alleging that BUSD is security. Meanwhile, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has slammed the SECs recent enforcement efforts against cryptocurrency businesses, calling them “unimaginative” forms of investor protection.Paxos CEO Clarifies Reasons for Ending Relationship with Binance Amid Regulatory Scrutiny According to Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla, the decision to end the relationship with Binance was unrelated to recent regulatory changes by the New York Department of Financial Services and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Paxos was recently instructed by the NYFSD to cut connections with Binance and cease minting the Binance-branded BUSD stablecoin. Simultaneously, the SEC filed a Wells Notice claiming that BUSD is unregistered security. After the NYFSD order, investors redeemed $2.8 billion in BUSD via Paxos. When investors abandoned the Binance-branded currency, the decentralized exchange Curve witnessed an inflow of BUSD and a decrease in Tether liquidity. Despite current SEC negotiations, Cascarilla told BUSD investors that Paxos will fulfill BUSD redemptions until at least February 2024.SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce Calls for Revolutionary Approach to Cryptocurrency