- Bitcoin has announced a timeline to shut down its leveraged token service.
- Users are urged to redeem their assets ahead of announced deadlines.
- The announcement follows decisions to halt the service for assets like XRP and ADA.
Over the past year, Binance has gradually removed support for several leveraged tokens on its platform. While initial moves involving XRP and ADA had been linked to regulatory uncertainty in the wake of SEC lawsuits, a recent announcement suggests that the move may not have been necessarily token-specific but potentially part of a broader strategy that has now seen the firm unveil plans to end the service altogether.
Binance Ceasing Support for Leveraged Tokens
On Monday, February 19, Binance announced it would end support for remaining leveraged tokens on its platform in April 2024. Specifically, the exchange would delist these remaining tokens, BNBUP, BNBDOWN, ETHUP, ETHDOWN, BTCUP, and BTCDOWN, at 6 AM UTC on April 1, April 2 and April 3, respectively.
Sponsored
Ahead of the asset delisting, the firm noted that it would cease trading for these assets at 6 AM UTC on February 28. As a result, the exchange has advised customers to trade their leveraged tokens for other assets ahead of the February deadline.
After the February deadline, however, Binance notes that users would still be able to redeem their tokens via official channels like the wallet function before the delisting deadline. The exchange would convert any remaining balances after the April deadlines to USDT at net asset value.
Leveraged tokens provide investors with amplified exposure to crypto assets without collateral. For example, a four-times leveraged Bitcoin token would see users record gains or losses equivalent to four times the price change experienced by the underlying asset.
On the Flipside
- Despite delisting leveraged tokens, Binance still offers a way for investors to gain leveraged exposure to leading crypto assets via its futures trading platform.
Why This Matters
Binance remains the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume. The exchange’s recent decision to shut down its leveraged token service could hint at an effort to streamline offerings amid legal issues.
Read this for more on Binance’s gradual winding down of the leveraged token service:
Binance Drops Cardano Leveraged Tokens Amid Piling Lawsuits
See Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin’s latest AI hot take:
AI Can Tackle Ethereum’s #1 Technical Risk: Vitalik Buterin