Coinbase Suspends BUSD Trading for Failing to Meet Listing Standards

Coinbase – the largest crypto exchange in the United States – announced that it is halting BUSD trading one week after the stablecoin’s issuer ceased minting new units of the token. 

• According to a tweet from Coinbase on Monday, the exchange will suspend trading for the token across Coinbase.com, Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Exchange, and Coinbase Prime.
• Users can still access any BUSD held in their accounts, and withdraw it from the platform at any time. 

• “We regularly monitor the assets on our exchange to ensure they meet our listing standards,” stated Coinbase. “Based on our most recent reviews, Coinbase will suspend trading for Binance USD (BUSD) on March 13, 2023, on or around 12pm ET.”

• Coinbase is hesitant to list tokens that exhibit certain characteristics – including over-centralization, unverifiable code, and other aspects that may qualify the asset as security. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Coinbase of listing multiple unregistered securities on its platform, but the exchange maintains that it “does not list securities.”
• Earlier this month, Paxos was ordered to stop minting BUSD by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). It was later issued a Wells notice by the SEC alleging that BUSD may qualify as an unregistered security. 
• Coinbase’s legal team maintains that stablecoins are not securities, as does the CEO of Circle – the issuer of the world’s second-largest stablecoin, USDC.