According to data from CryptoCompare, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at a premium of over 1% on Binance.US. The exchange’s USD trading volume has dropped to new lows after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Binance. Despite this, BTC was trading above $26,000 on Binance.US, surpassing the prices of major rivals like Kraken and Coinbase with over $150 as of press time.
Declining USD Volume
Although BTC is trading at a premium on Binance.US, the USD volume on the exchange has slowed significantly. The volume has dropped from a peak of over $684 million recorded on March 14 to less than $25 million, according to CryptoCompare data. This decline can be linked to the exchange’s banking partners’ decision to halt USD payment channels by June 13. Due to this, Binance.US stated that it would transition to a crypto-only platform because of its regulatory issues.
Binance.US Market Share
Data from Kaiko further corroborates the exchange’s declining trading activities. Kaiko reported that Binance.US market share, compared to other U.S. exchanges, dropped to 4.8% after the lawsuit, down from 20% in April. On the other hand, Coinbase market share surged from 46% to 64% within a week of its own SEC lawsuit. Meanwhile, Binance.US’ market depth dropped by 78% within a week of the U.S. SEC filing a lawsuit against the company for violating federal securities law, as per Kaiko data.
Concerns about Asset Lock-Ups
During the past week, Kaiko noted that the exchange’s market depth for 17 tokens dropped to just $7 million from the $34 million recorded on June 4 – a day before the SEC’s lawsuit. Kaiko stated that market makers and traders left the exchange due to concerns about potential asset lock-ups. On June 6, the SEC moved to freeze Binance’s U.S. assets, arguing that this action was needed to ensure the safety of customers’ funds. “[Binance.US] market makers are nervous and want to avoid volatility-induced losses and the non-negligible possibility that their assets could get stuck on an exchange à la FTX collapse.”
In summary, Binance.US has been experiencing a decline in USD trading volume due to its regulatory issues and the decision of its banking partners to halt USD payment channels. However, despite this decline, BTC is trading at a premium on the exchange compared to its major rivals. Binance.US has seen a drop in market share and market depth, with potential asset lock-ups causing market makers and traders to leave the exchange.
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