Binance CEO comments on Tether after exchange pauses its withdrawals

Binance, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges by volume, suspended withdrawals of stablecoin Tether [USDT] on Monday during a period of heightened activity. This came soon after rumors of Binance de-listing Tether started going around, which the exchange later denied. According to the platform's website, withdrawal functionality has since been returned. A customer service administrator on the platform's English-language Telegram channel had previously said that the suspension was due to "USDT network congestion." An administrator in the channel mentioned on Monday that the "maintenance [is] due to network congestion. Expected date/time cannot be provided. We are fixing it as soon as possible." On Tuesday, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) tweeted, "1 USDT withdraw on Binance is not the issue. 2 Our USDT reserve is public, can be seen on the blockchain. 3 We have same info as the public. 4 We don't comment on coins. Anything we say is over/misinterpreted. 5 We stay neutral, and we SIMPLY PROVIDE CHOICES." Interestingly, Binance is one the largest holders of USDT tokens, with over 768.5 million in its reserves, according to a wallet richlist posted on Tether.to. In an interview at Korea Blockchain Week (held from July 16 to July 20), Zhao was asked how the exchange would be impacted if the coin collapsed. He told Ran NeuNer, CryptoTrader host at CNBC, that it will be worrisome. However, this threat is equal for all coins and not just for Tether [USDT]. “We have seen fiat currencies go down in history a lot. Probably more times than they have been in cryptocurrencies. So, yes the concern is always there and that’s also why we’re listing other stable coins as well, so we actively promote other stable coins including the TUSD, …and others,” he said. See also: Binance shares what Blockchain Charity Foundation does, origin of BCF and more Real estate marketplace Propy will now accept Binance Coin [BNB] as a mode of payment Image via Shutterstock Join our telegram group