Binance Abruptly Delists South African Rand Trading Pairs After Currency Fails to Meet 'High Level Standard'

In an abrupt move, Binance South Africa announced on March 31 that all South African rand (ZAR) trading pairs will be delisted on April 2. The crypto exchange adds in a statement that “all trade orders will be automatically removed after 10.00 UTC on April 1” in each respective trading pair. Binance concludes by requesting users to withdraw all funds before the 10.00 UTC deadline.

ZAR No Longer Meets the Standard

In justifying the decision, Binance South Africa states that it “periodically reviews each digital asset we list to ensure it continues to meet the high level of standard we expect.” The email goes on to add that when “a token no longer meets this standard or when the industry changes,” a decision will be made to remove such a digital asset.

Meanwhile, in a strong hint that ZAR trading pairs had failed the in-depth review, Binance said:

Based on our most recent reviews, we have decided to delist and cease trading on all ZAR trading pairs at 10.00 UTC on April 1, 2021.

According to the statement, the exact trading pairs to be removed include USDT/ZAR, BTC/ZAR, ETH/ZAR, BUSD/ZAR and BNB/ZAR. Still, the email explains that South African users can still trade these “assets in other trading pairs that are available on Binance.”

Users Speculate

Meanwhile, not everyone is satisfied with Binance’s explanation for dropping ZAR trading pairs. For instance, one local report speculated that “a common delisting template (had been) used in the rush to push the announcement out.” However, the report also quotes an unnamed “Binance Africa Angel” who suggests that “the platform’s low liquidity on the pairs was cause for the decision.” The lack of ZAR deposit functionality is thought to be “exacerbating the problem.”

On Twitter, some users expressed surprise at the decision which they claim is contradictory. Basing their claims on a Chainalysis report, which places South Africa “among the top 10 countries in the world for crypto adoption”, the users argue that it, therefore, makes no sense for Binance to delist ZAR pairs.