Binance to Terminate Tron USDC Support; Faces Blockade in Philippines

By: Eliza Bennet

Crypto exchange, Binance, has announced termination of support for Tron network-based USD Coin (USDC) stablecoins by April 5, following reports of Circle pulling out of the Tron blockchain. Binance users thus have less than a fortnight to withdraw their assets or convert them to USDC through alternative networks. Transactions involving USDC via other supported networks such as Ethereum remain unaffected by this change.

This follows last month's abrupt decision by Circle to end support for Tron-based USDC, as it aimed for an 'enterprise-wide approach' involving several departments including business organization and compliance. The founder of Tron network, Justin Sun, respected Circle's decision highlighting that his blockchain network shares a decentralized structure akin to Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Simultaneously, reports have come in that the Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intends to block Filipino citizens' access to Binance within the next three months on account of the crypto platform's unregistered status in the country. Google and Meta have also been urged to cease any Binance-related advertising targeting Filipino users.

The Philippines SEC, which issued a cautionary advisory against the crypto trading platform last year, cited unregistered operations of Binance in the country as a major concern. This prohibition represents the latest regulatory setback for Binance, as it battles increased scrutiny across several jurisdictions, including the United States and Nigeria.