Breaking News: Binance Connect will cease down on August 16th

According to a spokeswoman, the decision was made in response to "changing market and user needs."

Binance Connect, the regulated buy-and-sell crypto arm of the Binance exchange, will close on August 16, according to an email from a Binance spokeswoman on August 15. 

The same day, Biswap, a decentralized exchange based on the BNB Chain, tweeted that Binance "has made the difficult decision to disable @Binance_Connect on 15 August due to its provider closing the supporting card payments service." According to a Binance spokesperson: 

Binance Connect, formerly known as Bifinity, debuted on March 7, 2022. The business served as a fiat-to-crypto payments provider, linking cryptocurrency enterprises to the traditional financial system. At the time of its inception, the platform accepted 50 cryptocurrencies as well as fiat payment methods such as Visa and Mastercard. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the United Kingdom voiced alarm on the same day about Bifinity granting a $36 million convertible loan to Nasdaq-listed crypto investment firm Eqonex.

According to the FCA, as a result of the transaction, certain investors of Bifinity's parent company, Binance Group — which is unregulated in the United Kingdom — may be deemed beneficial owners of Eqonex. Binance Connect also provides the fiat-to-crypto on-ramp for the company's self-custody Trust wallet. 

Binance Australia discontinued fiat services in the same month, claiming a problem with a third party. German officials denied Binance's bid for a crypto custody license in June. However, in July, the business obtained a crypto broker-dealer license from Dubai regulators. The exchange is now in lawsuit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on charges of running an unregistered exchange in the US.

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