Binance To Delist HNT; COO Responds

The Helium Foundation’s token, HNT, will soon be removed from multiple trading pairs on the Binance crypto exchange. Helium executives have questioned this decision. 

HNT Not Meeting Binance Standards

On October 6, the Binance crypto exchange released a notice alerting the community that it was going to be removing the cross-isolated margin and spot trading pairs for HNT and Binance USD (BUSD), Tether (USDT), and Bitcoin. The exchange also suggested users close any positions in HNT’s listed pairs as otherwise, they might find these positions forcibly closed after October 12. Any pending order will also be automatically closed. Only spot trading for the HNT/BUSD pair shall remain open beyond that deadline. 

Explaining the decision, Binance spokesperson Jessica Jung clarified, 

“[Binance periodically reviews] each digital asset we list to ensure that it continues to meet a high level of standard. When a coin or token no longer meets this standard or there are changes in the industry, we conduct a more in-depth review and potentially delist it in order to protect our users.”

COO Criticizes Delisting

However, the reasons stated by Jung regarding Binance’s decision to delist HNT have been seriously questioned by Helium Foundation COO Scott Sigel, who has claimed that the findings about HNT are baseless. He stated, 

“There is no basis for Binance to delist several HNT pairs. There has been no change to the integrity of HNT and it continues to meet all of the standards the exchange sets. There are dozens of other exchanges that continue to support HNT. We hope Binance reverses course and re-lists the other HNT trading pairs soon.”

HNT’s Recent Struggles

Speculations are rife about why the exchange is partially delisting HNT. According to one school of thought, the decision has something to do with Binance’s recent mix-up of HNT with a much lower-priced token used by Helium to make hosting payments for its 5G network. The mix-up resulted in a 4.8 million HNT payout, which affected the price of the token on the platform. The exchange lost a sizeable $19 million over this mistake. 

Helium itself has been under fire for its low revenue numbers. In July, a report found that despite extensive funding and investor support, the project only brings in $6,500 per month. More recently, the Helium community voted predominantly to abandon its own blockchain and migrate the network over to the Solana blockchain. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.