Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, today announced it had suspended euro bank deposits from the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), the EU’s payment network, according to reports.
European users of the crypto exchange have received an email saying that customers could no longer deposit cash through SEPA, the Financial Times reported.
SEPA is a network that aims to make European payments quick, easy, and cheap by creating a single market for euro-denominated payments. Crypto traders use SEPA to transfer bulk sums of cash into exchanges. Now, Binance customers in the countries that use SEPA (currently 36) will not be able to use the system to deposit cash.
Binance has not responded to a Decrypt request for comment.
According to the FT, the exchange said the move was “temporary” but due to “events beyond our control.” Users are still able to withdraw euros from the exchange via SEPA. And payments via credit and debit cards will not be affected.
Binance is already reeling from news this week that British bank Barclays will prevent customers from sending money to the exchange. And the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) last month issued a consumer warning against Binance Markets Limited, a company acquired by Binance in order to facilitate the launch of a bespoke UK crypto exchange.
None of which will necessarily stop Europe- or UK-based Binance users from trading. But it does make it trickier.