Tech

Binance​.​US finally rolls out mobile payments service to US customers

12/14/2022
Bitcoin Ethereum News

United States crypto exchange Binance.US has finally rolled out its Binance Pay service — some 22 months after the feature was launched by the global exchange to its customers outside the U.S.

The service, which had a beta version rolled out globally in February 2021 for peer-to-peer payments that was expanded to include merchant transactions on March 12, allows mobile users of the Binance app to instantly transact withnearly 150 supported cryptocurrencies without fees.

A Dec. 13 blog post from Binance.US clarifies that Pay transactions will feature zero gas or transaction fees, and notes that the app is currently only available on mobile as it prepares to introduce a web version “which will arrive in the near future.”

Meanwhile, amid the recent fear, uncertainty and doubt against Binance globally, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) applauded the Binance American unit, saying “Keep building!”

To access the new features, Binance.US users would need to update to the latest version of the app, and go through identity verification as well as loading their Pay wallet.

However, the service only facilitates transactions between users on the Binance.US mobile app. Users can receive up to $1 million in crypto every 24 hours.

Related: Crypto community members discuss bank run on Binance

The latest announcement has come amid a turbulent period for the global crypto exchange.

At the time of writing, Binance’s Bitcoin (BTC) balance had fallen by over 42,000 in the last 24 hours, equating to over $754 million. But despite the withdrawals, the exchange still has a Bitcoin balance in excess of 527,304 BTC, according to on-chain monitoring resource Coinglass.

The withdrawals follow a Dec. 13 Reuters report that the U.S. Department of Justice is nearing the end of a three-year investigation into Binance, with U.S. prosecutors reportedly split over whether there is enough evidence to press criminal charges against the exchange and its executives.

Additionally, there have also been fresh concerns within the crypto community relating to Binance’s finances, with accounting and financial specialists consulted by the Wall Street Journal in a Dec. 10 report suggesting Binance’s proof of reserves raise a number of red flags while community members fear the worst.

In a Dec. 14 update on Twitter, CZ noted that “Things seem to have stabilized,” adding that the withdrawals yesterday weren’t even within the top five days for withdrawals in Binance’s history.