- It comes at a time the crypto space continues to digest the implications of the troubles facing Silvergate.
- Bybit joins other exchanges like Binance, forced to end USD transactions, partly due to regulatory pressure.
Bybit, the fourth largest exchange by trading volumes, is planning to halt US dollar deposits and withdrawals, including those through SWIFT, over what it has termed an outage from an end-point processing partner. The suspension would remain on until further communication.
‘‘Withdrawals via Wire Transfers (including SWIFT) will also be suspended on March 10, 2023, 12 AM UTC due to the same end-point processing partner,’’ the exchange wrote on a blog post. ‘‘If you wish to make any withdrawals via these methods, please do so before March 10, 2023, UTC.’’
Speculations Around The Troubled Silvergate
The Dubai-based exchange has not disclosed the name of the partner experiencing the outage. However, speculations are pointing towards Silvergate, which announced Friday that it was closing its exchange network, an instant settlement banking service used by several cryptocurrency firms. Besides, the bank had to sever ties with major clients, including Coinbase, Circle, Crypto.com, and Kraken, after it announced that it could not meet the deadline for submitting its annual 10-K report and that it was assessing ‘‘its ability to continue as a going concern.’’
See Related: Silvergate Drops Over 50% In A Trading Day; Sees Its Biggest Clients Halting Business With The Bank
Bybit is one of many exchanges that have had to halt its USD transactions over technical challenges and regulatory pressure. Binance announced a similar move last month, suspending bank transfers in USD without specific reasons.
The trend comes amid increasing regulatory pressure in the US, especially after the implosion of FTX. Most banking partners to crypto exchanges are backing off to remain on good terms with the watchdog. For instance, at the start of the year, Signature Bank stopped processing fiat to crypto transactions below $100,000, reducing up to $10 billion worth of deposits.
See Related: Bitcoin And Ethereum Price Prediction After Silvergate Capital Announced That It’s Experiencing Operational Issues
