The crypto exchange announced on Aug. 22 that USDT was being adopted as the new “base asset” for all transactions, and its partnership with MoonPay allows a path for users to transact in USD
Two months after becoming a crypto-only platform, Binance.US has announced a new partnership with crypto payments company MoonPay to allow users to buy the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin Tether to use on its platform.
The crypto exchange announced on August 22 that USDT was being adopted as the new “base asset” for all transactions, and its partnership with MoonPay allows a way for users to transact in US dollar.
The new partnership comes amid Binance.US suffering a breakdown with its banking partners, which saw fiat deposits on the exchange stopped as of June 9.
At the time, it cited “aggressive and intimidating” tactics from the US SEC — which sued the exchange and its affiliates four days back — as the reason for the disruption.
Binance.US customers looking to fund their accounts can now exchange dollars for USDT, which can in turn be used to buy other crypto currencies on the platform, as per the statement.
While direct bank deposits remain disabled on Binance.US, the partnership offers users an on-ramp that supports purchases through debit and credit cards as well as Apple and Google Pay.
On June 23, the exchange experienced a number of issues with USD-denominated withdrawals but managed to temporarily recover the functionality. At the time, it cautioned that the service would be stopped in the near future.
Prior to Binance.US and its affiliates being hit by a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the exchange supported the purchase and sale of popular crypto currencies via direct US dollar deposits and withdrawals.
In March, several crypto exchanges and service providers lost their banking partners amid a broader banking crisis that saw several crypto-friendly banks — Silicon Valley Investment Bank, Silvergate and Signature Bank — all crash within the span of a few weeks.
