Binance Australia Suspends AUD Fiat Deposits
- The crypto exchange blamed the issue on a decision made by its third party payments provider in Australia, noting that it is now looking for a new partner in the country.
- Binance Australia assured users that AUD withdrawals are still available, and that they can continue to buy and sell crypto using debit/credit cards and its P2P marketplace.
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The Australian arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance has suspended Australian dollar (AUD) deposits due to issues with its local payment services provider, the company said via Twitter on 18 May.
According to the anouncement, Binance Australia is no longer able to facilitate AUD deposits through PayID — an instant bank transfer system supported in the country — due to a decision made by its third party payment service provider. The company assured its users that it is working hard to find an alternative provider in order to continue offering AUD deposits.
While the exchange initially said that AUD withdrawals will also be impacted, it later provided an update saying that users still have access to AUD withdrawals and that it will provide further updates if there are any changes. It also informed users that they can continue to buy and sell crypto using credit and debit cards, and through its peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace. The exchange added:
“Rest assured that your funds are safe through the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), an insurance fund that offers protection to Binance users and their funds in the event of extreme situations.”
The news came more than a month after the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) cancelled Binance’s derivatives license in the country after conducting a targeted review of the exchange’s local operations. Today’s move could potentially impact a significant portion of Australia’s crypto users, considering Binance Australia CEO Leigh Travers’ claim that the exchange had around one million users in the country.
- Users of Binance NFT can now use select blue-chip NFT collections as collateral to take out cryptocurrency loans.
- The platform will initially support only loans in ETH, and NFT collections Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Azuki, and Doodles.
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- The Binance NFT marketplace said it will soon expand its multichain ecosystem, and add support for Bitcoin Ordinals, which are also known as Bitcoin NFTs.
- The platform said it will allow users to purchase and trade Ordinals directly from their Binance accounts, bypassing the need to create a separate inscription wallet.
- The exchange first paused Bitcoin withdrawals late on 7 May due to a network congestion issue, but resumed them only an hour and a half later.
- The second pause took place early on 8 May, and lasted almost three hours, but the issue now appears to be fixed after the exchange adjusted its transaction fees.