Binance to Shut Down Crypto Payments Service Amid Refocus On Core Products
The service was rolled out in March last year, in an effort to make traditional financial companies “crypto-ready.”
Aug 15, 2023 at 6:15 p.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/SXTC4TFQCNCXZKH7ODEOCYIRJI.jpg)
/arc-photo-coindesk/arc2-prod/public/LXF2COBSKBCNHNRE3WTK2BZ7GE.png)
Crypto exchange Binance to shut down its buy-and-sell service Binance Connect, formerly known as Bifinity, just one year after its launch, the company said in a statement.
The service will be disabled on Aug. 16 as the crypto exchange wants to refocus on its main products and long-term goals, according to Binance.
“We periodically review our products and services to ensure that our resources continue to be focused on core efforts that align with our long-term strategy. In the last six years, Binance has grown from being an exchange to a global blockchain ecosystem with multiple business lines. We consistently adapt and modify our business approach in response to changing market and user needs,” a spokesperson told CoinDesk in an emailed statement.
Binance Connect, which allowed merchants to accept payments in crypto, launched in March 2022 in an effort to help companies become “crypto-ready,” the exchange said back then. The service supported 50 cryptocurrencies and all major payment methods, including Visa and Mastercard.
:format(webp)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/coindesk/6d05e6ca-ca9b-44d0-97e6-b6bdceee3d6f.png)
Helene is a New York-based reporter covering Wall Street, the rise of the spot bitcoin ETFs and crypto exchanges. She is also the co-host of CoinDesk's Markets Daily show. Helene is a graduate of New York University's business and economic reporting program and has appeared on CBS News, YahooFinance and Nasdaq TradeTalks. She holds BTC and ETH.