Some of the major cryptocurrency exchanges continue to take measures in light of the recent FTX collapse. The companies halted stablecoin deposits from the Solana (SOL) blockchain, claiming that the measure will be temporary although have significant consequences on the SOL ecosystem.
Binance Suspends Solana USDC and USDT Deposits
On Nov. 17, Binance announced that it will be temporarily suspending deposits of the stablecoins USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT) on the Solana blockchain until further notice. The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume has not provided any explanation for its decision to suspend deposits. In addition, it stated that it reserves the right in its sole discretion to amend or change or cancel the announcement at any time and for any reason without prior notice. A few hours later it reopened deposits for USDT on Solana after its internal assessment and review. Tether and USD Coin ranked third and fourth by market capitalization in cryptocurrencies.
Mirrored Move By Other Crypto Exchanges
Solana-based stablecoins have been delisted by crypto exchange OKX, which includes halting both deposits and withdrawals for both tokens on Solana. OKX did not give any further information about its decision.
Following Binance’s lead, Bybit halted deposits and withdrawals for USDC and USDT while BitMEX paused USDT deposits. In a similar move, crypto exchange Crypto.com recently halted deposits and withdrawals of USDT and USDC on the Solana network citing recent industry happenings for its decision.
Solana’s Exposure to FTX
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) has long been associated with Solana. FTX invested in the project through Alameda Research, which is a company owned by SBF. The Solana Foundation also had exposure to FTX, including $1 million worth of cash or equivalent assets on FTX, 3.24 million FTX Trading LTD common stock shares, 3.43 million FTT tokens, and 134.54 million SRM tokens
The recent suspensions of the Solana-USDT and Solana-USDC stablecoin on exchanges and the event of FTX downfall have caused its native token Solana (SOL) to plunge. According to Coinmarketcap, SOL is currently trading at $13.78, down almost 54% over the previous 30 days and 3.90% in the last 24 hours.
Binance
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