Binance Connect, the regulated crypto buying and selling service of Binance exchange, will cease its operations on August 16. This was confirmed by a Binance spokesperson via an email to Cointelegraph on August 15. On the same day, Biswap, a decentralized exchange on BNB Chain, tweeted that Binance had made a hard decision to disable Binance Connect due to its provider closing the card payments service.

According to the Binance spokesperson, the decision was made after a periodic review of the products and services offered by Binance, in order to align them with the long-term strategy and vision of the company. The spokesperson said that Binance has evolved from an exchange to a global blockchain ecosystem with multiple business lines in the last six years, and that it constantly adapts and modifies its business approach to meet the changing needs of the market and the users.

Binance Connect was launched in March 2022 as a fiat-to-crypto payments provider that connects crypto businesses with traditional finance. It supported 50 cryptocurrencies and accepted fiat payments through Visa and Mastercard. It also partnered with Eqonex, a Nasdaq-listed digital asset investment company, to expand their products, including Eqonex’s crypto custody solution Digivault.

However, Binance Connect also faced some regulatory challenges, as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) stated that some holders of Binance Group, the parent company of Bifinity (later known as Binance Connect), might be deemed beneficiaries of Eqonex due to their investment. Binance has also encountered various difficulties in other jurisdictions recently, such as Japan, Canada, Thailand, Italy, and Malaysia.