Binance to halt Bitcoin spot trading with Australian Dollar

Crypto exchange Binance announced it would stop Bitcoin (BTC) spot trading activities with the Australian Dollar (AUD) on June 1, according to a statement on May 26.

Additionally, the exchange would remove spot trading activities for other top cryptocurrencies like Cardano (ADA), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), XRP, BNB, Solana (SOL), and Polygon (MATIC) paired with AUD on the same day.

Binance said its users can still trade the affected assets on other trading pairs within its platform. However, it would terminate its Trading Bots services for the mentioned pairings.

Earlier in the week, Binance ended support for spot trading activities of eight digital assets paired with the AUD.

Binance facing regulatory heat in Australia

This drawback is coming when Binance’s operation in Australia faces much regulatory scrutiny.

In April, the exchange canceled its derivatives license with the  Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). At the time, the financial regulator said it was investigating the platform’s compliance with local laws.

On May 18, Binance said it could no longer process Australian Dollar deposits for users because its third-party payment service provider Cuscal stopped providing its services to the firm. On the same day, Australia’s oldest bank, Westpac, banned crypto transactions to unnamed exchanges.

Binance’s declining BTC volume

Meanwhile, Binance’s market share for BTC spot trading activities dropped to around 40% from 85% recorded in February 2023, CryptoSlate reported, citing data from CoinShares.

According to the report, the decline coincided with a period where Binance faced increased regulatory troubles from multiple fronts.

In March, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance and its CEO, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, over violations of the commodities law. The regulator alleged that the exchange illegally facilitated the trading of derivative orders on commodities for U.S. citizens.

On May 12, the exchange exited the Canadian market, citing the country’s regulatory guidance as a hindrance to its operations.

Additionally, Binance has struggled to find new banking partners as it suspended USD-denominated bank transfers and GBP services for new users earlier this year.