Crypto exchange Binance will shut down its fiat-to-crypto payment platform Binance Connect on August 16, media reports said. Launched in March 2022, Binance Connect was initially named Bifinity.
“We periodically review our products and services to ensure that our resources continue to be focused on core efforts that align with our long-term strategy,” a Binance spokesperson said.
“In the last six years, Binance has grown from being an exchange to a global blockchain ecosystem with multiple business lines. We consistently adapt and modify our business approach in response to changing market and user needs,” the statement read.
Binance Connected, which supported over 50 cryptocurrencies, aimed to be the official fiat to crypto on ramp between Binance and other blockchain-based platforms. It also supported Visa, Mastercard, among other payment methods.
Binance Connect also served as the fiat-to-crypto on-ramp provider for Binance’s self-custody Trust wallet.
In a tweet, Biswap, a BNB Chain-based decentralized exchange, said Binance is disabling the Binance Connect platform due to the closing of cards payments service provider by a provider.
The day Bifinity was launched, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) raised red flags over Bifinity offering a $36 million convertible loan to Eqonex, a Nasdaq-listed crypto investment fund.
In March 2022, Binance Australia paused fiat services due to problems with a third party. Binance is also in litigation with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for allegedly operating an unlicensed exchange in the US.
