BinanceBinance has notified its retail customers of an impending service disruption that could prevent on-ramp and off-ramp bank money transactions. The crypto exchange informed users in an email on January 21 that they would be unable to purchase or sell cryptocurrencies worth less than $100,000 using SWIFT beginning February 1.
Binance SWIFT transactions capped at a $100k minimum
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange blamed the new decision on an undisclosed banking partner. The bank was said to be barring access for all of its “crypto exchange clients.” As of the time of publication, no new cryptocurrency exchange had announced a comparable restriction.
Users with US Dollar-held bank accounts who want to purchase or sell cryptocurrencies for less than $100,000 will be impacted by the service suspension. The inconvenience will begin on February 1.
The exchange stated that they are currently “actively seeking” a new SWIFT (USD) partner in order to avoid service delays for future bank payment transfers. The cryptocurrency exchange stated that the decision was made by the banking partner and that Binance would not be the only trading platform affected by the change:
This is the case for all of their crypto exchange clients. Please be advised that until we are able to find an alternative solution, you may not be able to use your bank account to buy or sell crypto with USD via SWIFT with a value of less than $100,000 USD after February 1st, 2023.
Binance
Binance did, however, emphasize that consumers would still be able to use their credit or debit card to purchase or sell cryptocurrencies and that payments to or from third-party exchanges would be completed. Furthermore, the crypto entity stated that the outage does not affect its other services or “Corporate Accounts.”
Traditional financial institutions such as Silvergate Capital and Signature Bank have begun to reduce their crypto exposure in order to insulate themselves from the crypto industry’s contagion. These banks had established themselves as crypto-friendly financial institutions, but recent developments have pushed them to reconsider.
The cryptocurrency exchange also stated that SWIFT-based transactions for non-USD bank transfers, such as the Euro, would continue to be available. While the stoppage of payment services was not Binance’s decision, the trading site has recently ceased transactions.
On November 17, the behemoth crypto exchange announced a temporary halt on Solana-based USDT and USDC deposits. In addition, the exchange briefly suspended Ether (ETH) and wrapped Ether (wETH) deposits and withdrawals for around ten days prior to the Ethereum Merge.
Binance Charity boosts Web3 in sponsorships
Binance Charity, the company’s charitable arm, plans to fund 30,65 scholarships to students interested in pursuing a career in Web3 in 2023.
The charity arm explained in a January 20 blog post that the Binance Charity Scholar Program (BCSP) will provide free Web3 education and training courses, allowing tech-savvy students to upskill without having to overcome any needless financial barriers:
We recognize that digital education and skills development can be out of reach for many, resulting in a blockchain industry that lacks diversity and talent. The Binance Scholar Program changes all that, covering the costs of tuition and course fees at some of the world’s leading universities, colleges, and vocational training providers.
BCSP
According to the blog, over 82,000 applications wanted to be a part of the next BCSP cohort, which amounts to a 37% admission rate.
The University of Western Australia, the University of Nicosia in Cyprus, the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management in Germany, and the Nigerian-based technology cluster Utiva are among the education partners in collaboration.
Some of BCSP’s events will also be hosted by the French tuition-free training facility Simplon, Women In Tech, Kyiv IT Cluster, and Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation. Binance Charity stated that they collaborated with Ukraine-based organizations to retrain Ukrainians who may have lost their jobs as a result of the war with Russia.
The collaboration with Women In Tech will aim to train about 3,000 women in rural South Africa and Brazil in order to promote future female entrepreneurs. Binance Charity will also benefit from the company’s non-profit blockchain education portal, Binance Academy.
Binance Charity raised more than $3.5 million in 2022 alone, the majority of which came in the form of Binance USD (BUSD), which helped fund over 290,000 hours of Web3 education and training courses.
Binance Charity has not stated when the 30,000+ posts will be filled or when the scholar programs will begin.
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