WazirX will start converting Tether (USDT), Pax Dollar (USDP), and True USD (TUSD) into Binance USD (BUSD) after delisting the other stablecoins on September 26.
Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has announced the delisting of major stablecoins: Tether (USDT), Pax Dollar (USDP), and True USD (TUSD).
WazirX follows Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, in consolidating its stablecoin holdings into a single asset.
In preparation for delisting, WazirX has stopped deposits of USDT, USDP, and TUSD and will pause withdrawals of these stablecoins on September 23, 2022 at 5 p.m. IST. Afterwards, it will remove USDT, USDP, and TUSD on September 26, 2022, at 7:30 AM. m. IST.
Following the delisting, the exchange will convert all remaining stablecoin balances to Binance USD (BUSD), another stablecoin, “to improve liquidity and capital efficiency for users.” Users can withdraw their USDC, USDP, and TUSD holdings from their BUSD balances at a 1:1 ratio.
WazirX will also remove spot trading pairs for all three stablecoins. Binance and Paxos Trust issue BUSD.
Through a tweet posted on September 5, Binance announced that investments in USDC, USDP, and TUSD would be converted to BUSD on September 29:
“Binance is introducing automatic BUSD conversion for users’ existing balances and new deposits of USDC, USDP, and TUSD stablecoins at a 1:1 ratio. As of 2022-09-29 03:00 (UTC).”
WazirX Ownership Dispute
In July 2022, Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao denounced claims made by WazirX CEO Nischal Shetty that Binance owns the Indian exchange.
Shetty’s claims followed a 2019 Binance blog post in which the exchange said it had “acquired” WazirX, but a deal was never reached.
“Binance has never, at any time, owned shares in Zanmai Labs, the entity that operates WazirX,” CZ tweeted. According to Zhao, Binance provides wallet infrastructure for WazirX, but the exchange manages its own KYC, trading, and withdrawal initiation processes.
In August 2022, CZ advised WazirX users to move funds held on WazirX to Binance, following an investigation by the Indian Enforcement Directorate.
Circle CEO to BUSD
BUSD successfully launched on Avalanche and Polygon following stablecoin conversions. The two blockchains add to BUSD’s growing multi-chain footprint as it is already active on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and Ethereum.
On September 8, 2022, Paxos Trust boasted of the regulation of BUSD and USDP by the New York Department of Financial Services, unlike other stablecoins:
“ONLY regulated stablecoins like #BUSD and #USDP from Paxos do this, setting us apart from stablecoins issued by MTLs that have no oversight of reserves or governance.”
At the same time, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire noted that BUSD is of little use outside of the Binance platform and that the news about the exchange’s automatic conversion was misunderstood by the media. At that time, CZ confirmed that USDC deposits and withdrawals were still possible.
Data from Coinglass indicates that most of the BUSD trading volume in the last 24 hours occurred on BSC. BUSD has grown to become the third largest stablecoin by market cap.
By Audy Castaneda
