U.S. dollar (USD) deposits for domestic and international customers will no longer be accepted at the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit as of Saturday.
The exchange stated that "we have temporarily suspended USD deposits via Wire Transfer (including SWIFT) due to service outages from our end-point processing partner until further notice," and that withdrawals would cease on March 10.
Even though the Suspension of USD deposits is announced, users can still use credit cards and other payment methods to make purchases and deposit and withdraw crypto to and from wallet addresses.
Other fiat or cryptocurrencies, as well as account funding channels, are not affected by the limited payment gateway interruption. Through alternative channels, users can still purchase cryptocurrencies in USD with their debit and credit cards. "We will keep our users and stakeholders informed as soon as there are further developments, and we are closely urging our partners for alternative solutions," a spokesperson for Bybit told CoinDesk.
Bybit's move comes a month after Binance, the largest digital asset exchange in the world by trading volume, stopped sending dollars and Silverage, a California-based lender known for providing traditional banking services to crypto firms, including exchanges, is having a crisis. Silvergate delayed submitting its annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission and stated that it is evaluating "its ability to continue as a going concern" last week.
Matrixport's head of research and strategy, Markus Thielen, believes that Bybit's decision to follow Binance's lead during the Silvergate crisis is significant for the cryptocurrency market.
"Bitcoin prices dropped -10% in January when Binance stopped transferring USD. Binance has a greater impact than other exchanges, but ByBit will also stop transferring USD beginning on March 10. In a note to clients, Thielen stated, "This action is now preventing SWIFT (international) and Wire transfers (national) to reach some crypto exchanges and is indeed a BIG deal."
Thielen went on to say, "Three data points make a trend that there is a deliberate attempt to cut USD access for crypto exchanges and crypto firms."
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