BNR – Bitcoin price on the Binance Australia branch was 20 per cent lower than on competitor exchanges on Tuesday. The discount indicates that clients were looking at selling their holdings soon. Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform.
On Binance Australia, the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was over A$34,000 ($23,062). However, it was roughly A$43,000 on BTC Markets, an Australian cryptocurrency market.
Outside of Australia, Bitcoin was trading at roughly $27,790 on platforms such as Bitstamp.
Australian Users Withdraw
“Australian users have been withdrawing their AUD holdings from the platform in advance of the off-ramp closure on 1 June.” a Binance spokesperson said. He added that this is “due to the recent removal of fiat on-ramp services by our payment processor’s banking partner.”
Early this month, Binance said that some Australian users may be unable to deposit or withdraw funds. This is because a third-party service provider has terminated the company’s service.
Binance Australia: Regulatory Challenges
In April, the trading platform announced the closure of its Australian derivatives business. The move comes after the business surrendered its financial services license after a regulatory investigation into its practices. Binance has been fighting regulatory actions and investigations all across the world. The trading platform accounts for up to 70 per cent of global cryptocurrency trade.
At first, Binance solely conducted all transactions in cryptocurrency, allowing them to stay out of the global banking system. However, as Binance gained more customers and workers, its requirement for traditional bank accounts expanded.
It utilised Silvergate Bank, a failed US institution that went bankrupt in March. The same month, New York’s top financial regulator took over another crypto-friendly bank, Signature Bank. Binance was a client.
Binance has had varying degrees of success in securing bank accounts for its minor operations. Most big banks declined the exchange owing to compliance worries about the source of financing for crypto firms.