Binance will stop supporting Tron USDC from April! Can TRON escape US regulation?
Binance, the world's largest exchange, announced this week that due to the Circle team stopping supporting the USDC token of Tron Network (TRC20), Binance will stop supporting the U.S. dollar stable currency USDC starting from 10:00 on April 5, 2024, Beijing time. Deposits and withdrawals on the public chain Tron Network.
Binance, the world's largest exchange, issued an announcement on Monday (25th) saying that based on the Circle team stopping supporting the USDC token of Tron Network (TRC20), Binance will start at 10:00 Beijing time on April 5, 2024. , stop depositing and withdrawing the US dollar stable currency USDC on the public chain Tron Network: after 10:00 on April 5, 2024 (Eastern Eighth District time), recharge USDC tokens through Tron Network (TRC20) The transfer to the user account will not be successful; users can continue to trade USDC tokens on the Binance platform; deposits and withdrawals of USDC through other supported networks will not be affected.
Circle announced in February this year that it would gradually stop supporting USDC on the TRON chain.
At the end of 2023, Reuters pointed out in an article that TRON had been listed by Israel and the United States as a blockchain that helps terrorist organizations raise funds, and it was reported that USDC issuer Circle also played a funding role in this. In this regard, Circle emphasized that after February 2023, it has not provided services to Justin Sun or any companies he owns or controls, including the TRON Foundation or HTX.
Then in February this year, Circle announced that it would gradually stop using USDC on the Tron chain: From now on, USDC will no longer be minted on the Tron chain, and the transfer and redemption of USDC on its chain will continue to operate normally until February 2025. .
Circle did not state clearly the reason for stopping support for the Tron chain at the time, only stating that it was part of their risk management: We terminated support for USDC on the Tron chain. This decision is the result of our comprehensive evaluation, and the evaluation process covers business organization, compliance, and various other departments within the company. This action is consistent with our efforts to ensure that USDC remains trustworthy, transparent and secure, characteristics that make it the leading regulated digital dollar.
Will TRON be cracked down by the SEC and US regulations?
In March last year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against TRON founder Justin Sun, as well as the Tron Foundation, BitTorrent Foundation and BitTorrent (now known as Rainberry) related to him. . and others filed a lawsuit accusing it of illegal sales of securities, fraud and market manipulation.
In addition, Reuters pointed out that TRON has been listed by Israel and the United States as a blockchain that helps terrorist organizations raise funds, and the cryptocurrency wallet data seized by Israeli security agencies since 2021 reflects that due to TRON’s faster transaction speed and lower Transaction fees make it more attractive to terrorist organizations than the Bitcoin network.
Against all backgrounds, the community cannot help but suspect that the SEC, which has always had a suppressive attitude towards cryptocurrencies, and even the Department of Justice, which hates money laundering, may carry out further regulatory crackdowns on Tron.
Is USDC more compliant than USDT?
In the stablecoin market, USDT issued by Tether has the first-mover advantage and its market value has exceeded US$100 billion, making it the well-deserved stablecoin overlord. However, the opacity of its past account funds and mortgage rate issues have also caused the market to question USDT many times.
In a report in February this year, JP Morgan analysts also seemed optimistic about USDC, the second-largest stablecoin in terms of market capitalization. They pointed out that Circle had recently secretly applied for a public listing in the United States, a move that highlighted the company’s plans for international expansion. And actively prepare for the upcoming stable currency regulations.
The U.S. Payment Stablecoin Clarity Act is currently awaiting congressional approval; in Europe, the Cryptoasset Market (MiCA) Supervision Act is expected to be partially implemented in June this year. As a result, analysts believe that stablecoin issuers that strictly adhere to existing regulations will benefit from the upcoming regulatory review and potentially gain more market share.
