Binance USD’s (BUSD) market cap has fallen below $10 billion for the first time in almost two years, as regulatory concerns in the United States have taken a toll on its token issuer. The planned delisting of BUSD from a major crypto exchange has added to the downward spiral of its market cap. As of March 3, BUSD’s market cap is at $9.66 billion, the lowest it has been since June 29, 2021.
The downfall of BUSD’s market cap began after it hit an all-time high of $23.49 billion on Nov. 15, just a few days after the collapse of FTX. Since then, the stablecoin’s market cap has been on a steep downward trajectory.
Most recently, BUSD has been the subject of a potential lawsuit against Paxos by the United States Securities Exchange Commission for a possible violation of investor protection laws. Since then, $6.65 billion has been shaved off BUSD’s market cap. Paxos was also ordered by the New York District of Financial Services to stop minting and issuing BUSD on Feb. 12, which may have contributed to the stablecoin’s market cap fall.
Coinbase has also announced that it will delist BUSD from its exchange on March 13 because the stablecoin “no longer meets our listing standards,” according to a Coinbase spokesman.
The wider crypto market has also seen a fall in market cap, with many pointing to the recent controversy surrounding Silvergate Bank and the late filing of its annual 10-K financial report on March 1.
Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao stated in a Feb. 14 Twitter Spaces event that he never thought highly of the Binance stablecoin project, adding that he thought it “may fail” when it first rolled out.
To account for the fall in demand for BUSD, Binance recently minted nearly $50 million worth of TrueUSD (TUSD) as the cryptocurrency exchange looks to diversify its stablecoin holdings.
Despite the drop in BUSD’s market cap, the stablecoin is still the 10th largest cryptocurrency in terms of market cap. The next crypto token on the list is Solana (SOL), with $7.98 billion in market cap.