Coinbase which is the largest crypto exchange in the United States announced that they have decided to stop trading BUSD a week after stablecoin producers stopped printing new units of the token.
According to a tweet from Coinbase this week, the exchange will suspend trading for tokens across Coinbase.com, Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Exchange and Coinbase Prime. Users can still access any BUSD held in their account, and withdraw it from the platform at any time.
"We constantly monitor assets on our exchange to ensure they meet our listing standards," Coinbase said. “Based on our latest review, Coinbase will suspend trading for Binance USD (BUSD) on March 13, 2023, at or around 12 noon ET.”
Coinbase states they do not hesitate to list tokens that exhibit certain characteristics, including excessive centralization, unverifiable code and other aspects that may qualify an asset as a security. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Coinbase of listing some unregistered securities on its platform, but the exchange insists that it "does not list securities."
Earlier this month, Paxos was ordered to stop printing BUSD by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). It then issued a Wells notice by the SEC alleging that BUSD may qualify as an unregistered security.
Coinbase's legal team maintains that stablecoins are not securities, as does the CEO of Circle, the world's second largest stablecoin issuer, USDC.
