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Binance: Binance to End Support for USDC Stablecoin on Tron Blockchain Network
Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance said on Monday that customers will no longer be able to deposit and withdraw the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC using the Tron Blockchain network. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a constant value and are backed by traditional currencies. A stable currency can be based on different blockchains.
Last month, based in Boston, Encrypt Circle said it would no longer issue its USDC tokens on the Tron blockchain, a decision it said was “in line with its efforts to ensure USDC remains reliable, transparent, and secure.”
Binance said it would stop supporting the stablecoin via the Tron blockchain starting April 5 at 02:00 GMT.
Users can continue to trade USDC on Binance, while USDC deposits and withdrawals via other supported networks will not be affected, Binance said in a blog post.
Tron did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Tron founder Justin Sun, a prominent cryptocurrency entrepreneur, was sued last year by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly artificially inflating trading volumes and selling Tron tokens as unregistered securities. Sun said that SEC the charges “lack foundation.”
With approximately $32.1 billion in circulation, USDC is the eighth largest cryptocurrency and the second largest stablecoin, after Tether.
Most of the USDC in circulation is based on Ethereal blockchain, according to Circle’s website. As of February, before Circle ended support for Tron-based USDC, there were approximately 335 million USDC hosted on Tron.
In November, Reuters reported, citing interviews with financial crime experts and blockchain investigation specialists, that Tron had surpassed Bitcoin as a platform for cryptocurrency transfers associated with groups designated as terrorist organizations by Israel, the United States and other countries.
In response to that article, a Tron spokesperson said it had no control over those using its technology and was not linked to the groups identified by Israel. (Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft in London; editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
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