The only change is that Binance restarted Solana USDT — without explanation.
In an industry where rumors can gain traction quickly, the silence from Binance, OKX and ByBit is worrying. The only change is that Binance restarted Solana USDT — without explanation.
The crypto industry is waiting for the other shoe to drop as a number of large exchanges have suspended withdrawals of USDC and USDT stablecoins — but only the ones on the Solana blockchain.
The confusion that reigns about the reason for the suspension by top exchanges including Binance, OKX and ByBit extends even to USDC-issuer Circle, which tweeted out that there are no technical issues with Solana-chain USDC and it is “redeemable 1 for 1 for US dollars. Any amount. Any time. For Free. Always.”
Binance restarted Solana USDT several hours later, saying the move came “after internal assessment and review,” with no other notice.
Solana has been pounded by its connection to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, with its SOL token down about 95% on Nov. 17. Since Nov. 5, SOL is down two thirds, going from more than $37 to its current $15.38 (as of 3:40 p.m. ET).
The action comes on a very difficult and perhaps fraught day for crypto, with Bitcoins pouring out of centralized exchanges in great numbers and revelations about Sam Bankman-Fried’s tenure at FTX showing that the exchange favored sister company Alameda Research heavily — allowing it to avoid being automatically liquidated in trades — and its new management can’t even figure out how much money it has.
