Binance, the world's leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has announced the delisting of eight BUSD trading pairs from its margin trading platform. The move comes amid intensifying regulatory scrutiny and recent issues with the exchange's native token, BNB.
Per the official announcement, the delisted pairs include FARM/BUSD, LSK/BUSD, MBL/BUSD, PLA/BUSD, PUNDIX/BUSD and SC/BUSD in isolated margin trading, and MBL/BUSD and PUNDIX/BUSD in cross margin trading. This decision will take effect from 6:00 a.m. UTC on June 22, 2023.
In the lead-up to this, Binance has outlined a timeline for the delisting process. The platform will suspend isolated margin borrowing for the stated pairs from 6:00 a.m. UTC on June 16, 2023. Six days later, at the same time, Binance will automatically close users' positions, cancel pending orders and ultimately remove these pairs from its isolated margin platform. This will coincide with the delisting of the MBL/BUSD and PUNDIX/BUSD cross margin pairs from cross margin trading.
During this process, users will be unable to update their positions. Binance strongly advises traders to close their positions and transfer their assets from Margin Wallets to Spot Wallets ahead of the cessation of margin trading on June 22, 2023, to avoid potential losses.
The delisting occurs amid a broader context of increasing regulatory pressure on the exchange. Binance has faced multiple investigations and warnings from regulatory bodies worldwide over potential noncompliance with local laws and regulations. Concurrently, allegations suggesting that Binance may have been manipulating the market to maintain the price of its native token, BNB, have stirred controversy.