Crypto exchange Bybit has announced a suspension of U.S. dollar (USD) deposits for national and international customers due to service outages from their end-point processing partner. Withdrawals will be stopped from March 10, however users can still deposit and withdraw crypto to and from wallet addresses and fund purchases through credit cards and other payment methods. Bybit is a leading cryptocurrency derivatives exchange offering perpetual contracts, with up to 100x leverage and no expiry dates.
Bybit has temporarily suspended its payment gateway due to an interruption in service. This interruption is limited in scope and does not involve other fiat or crypto currencies and/or account funding channels. Users can still buy crypto currencies in USD using their debit and credit cards through other channels. Bybit is closely urging its partners for alternative solutions and will keep its users and stakeholders posted as soon as there are further developments. This move comes a month after Binance, the world’s largest digital assets exchange, halted dollar transfers and amid a crisis at Silverage, a California-based lender famous for offering traditional banking services to crypto firms.
As the Silvergate crisis continues to unfold, crypto services provider Matrixport’s head of research and strategy Markus Thielen has noted that Bybit’s decision to follow Binance’s lead in halting USD transfers is a big deal for the crypto market. Thielen believes that this action is part of a deliberate attempt to cut off USD access for crypto exchanges and crypto firms. He points to the 10% drop in bitcoin prices when Binance halted USD transfers in January as evidence of the exchange’s large impact on the market. Bybit’s decision to follow suit is likely to have a similar effect, and could have a significant impact on the crypto market.
