Binance Shocks Crypto World with Temporary Halt on US Bank Transfers – Here's What's Going On

cryptonews.com:

Binance has announced that it is temporarily suspending US dollar withdrawals and deposits for international customers beginning February 8.

In a Monday tweet, the largest crypto exchange in the world said that they "will temporarily suspend all USD bank transfers" starting Wednesday. Other transfer methods will not be affected, the exchange added, noting that it only impacts "a small proportion" of their users. 

The exchange did not provide additional details, but said they "are working hard to restart the service as soon as possible."

In a separate tweet, Binance US, a unit of the company that’s regulated by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, said that it’s not affected by the suspension. Thus the move applies only to non-U.S. customers who transfer money to or from bank accounts in dollars.

The move comes as Binance has been facing banking challenges in the United States. Last month, the exchange's banking partner Signature Bank raised transaction minimums for dollar transfers, announcing that it would only process trades by users with USD bank accounts over $100,000. 

At the time, Binance said it is “actively seeking” a new partner to process its SWIFT payments. Only “0.01% of our average monthly users are serviced by Signature Bank,” the exchange said in an email sent to impacted users. 

Signature Bank, which is headquartered in New York, said back in December that it intends to reduce its exposure to clients operating in the crypto space by shedding about $10 billion of deposits.

Signature Bank and Silvergate are two of the biggest crypto banks. However, the duo was hit hard by the crypto meltdown last year that saw around $2 trillion worth of value wiped out of the crypto market. 

Both banks