Binance Suspends SEPA Payments Temporarily And DeFi Coins Rally

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Bitcoin, which had earlier this week cracked the $35k limit again, was on the defensive after China doubled down on it’s anti-crypto stance, warning institutions in the Middle Kingdom against even doing so much as providing services to any crypto-related companies. Meanwhile Bitcoin mining equipment can be seen, stacked and unused, in many Chinese warehouses, as American miners see their earnings rise.

Binance temporary suspends SEPA Payments in Europe

Binance has a hard time to keep their operations running in Europe and the United Kingdom. The Financial Times reported that SEPA transactions are currently suspended for an unknown period. It comes after Binance was warned by the FCA for offering derivatives in the UK. Barclays took it a step further and stopped payments to Binance made by credit or debit cards.

F*CK BANKS! pic.twitter.com/gTFHAqlk1H

— sunnydecree (@sunnydecree) July 6, 2021

According to Binance, the suspension will be temporary and they were forced to take this decision. How long this will take is unknown, but last month there were multiple payment methods suspended around the world for an unknown reason.

EU citizens can still pay by credit or debit card. To trade on Binance in Europe you now have to use a broker like Bitvavo to process your transaction, buy crypto and send it to Binance. This will reduce the market share of Binance.

DeFi sees institutions enter

In the broader altcoin market, we are seeing a prolonged rally of several DeFi coins, such as Chainlink, Aave, Uniswap and Compound.

$AAVE Pro coming in July.

For those that didn’t attend the “NExt Steps in Institutional Defi” Zoom with Stani, here’s a recap email I received. pic.twitter.com/ClwlBkXh2r

— Noah Goldberg (@TraderNoah) July 4, 2021

It comes as institutional investors are clearly showing interest in DeFi, which has been receiving greater coverage in the worldwide business press as of late. In order to welcome these new potential clients, coins such as Aave have now set up specialized versions of their platforms, especially for institutional investors. Aave announced Aave Pro in a webinar last week and has since seen its value rise.

Bitcoin swings as Chinese regulators take action against a company that was allegedly providing cryptocurrency-related services https://t.co/N81eDVa9Tm pic.twitter.com/wqc3LHVsLs

— Bloomberg (@business) July 6, 2021

China Crackdown Widens

The Wu Blockchain account on Twitter, which reports on any major blockchain development in the country, started the negative news round, stating that:

The Central Bank of China has cancelled a Beijing company that provides software services for virtual currency transactions and closed its website, no institution may provide services for virtual currency transactions.

“China’s swift and sweeping crackdown on #bitcoin mining has pushed owners of small hydroelectric power plants to offload their assets now that demand for cheap power is drying up.”#Bitcoin incentivizes renewable energy. 🌊♻️https://t.co/RyF0Ro6Xhm pic.twitter.com/GknDdEas9o

— Documenting Bitcoin 📄 (@DocumentingBTC) July 5, 2021

It comes as not only Bitcoin mining equipment is for sale (on second hand sites) in abundance in China as a result of the crackdown, but, according to reporting in the South China Morning Post, miners are now getting rid of their small hydropower stations as well.

Imagine someone putting a small dam for sale in Europe or the US as a result of a Bitcoin crackdown. Can’t imagine? We neither, but the Chinese apparently used whole hydropower stations to mine Bitcoin. The future shift in hash rate will be enormous indeed.

FellowNeko / Depositphotos.com