Major Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has opted to delist USD Coin (USDC) from its platform and convert the remaining balances into the Binance-backed Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin.
WazirX officially announced on Monday that it has stopped deposits of USDC alongside other stablecoins like Pax Dollar (USDP) and TrueUSD (TUSD).
According to the announcement, the platform will instead offer the BUSD stablecoin to enhance liquidity and capital efficiency for users. WazirX will implement BUSD auto-conversion for users’ existing balances of USDC, USDP and TUSD at a 1:1 ratio on Oct. 5, the firm said.
“Users will be able to view their USDC, USDP and TUSD balances under the BUSD-denominated account balance when the conversion is complete,” the exchange noted. “WazirX may amend the list of stablecoins eligible for auto-conversion.”
Withdrawals of USDC, USDP and TUSD will still be available on WazirX through Friday. The platform then plans to delist the stablecoins from its spot trading pairs on Sept. 26.
A spokesperson for WazirX told Cointelegraph that the firm periodically reviews each digital asset to ensure that it continues to meet the “high level of standard.” The representative elaborated that WazirX considers a number of factors, including trading volume and liquidity, commitment of team to a project, responsiveness to periodic due diligence requests and others.
“When a coin or token no longer meets this standard or the industry changes, we conduct a more in-depth review and potentially delist it. We believe this best protects all our users,” the spokesperson stated.
According to data from CoinGecko, WazirX was trading an insignificant amount of USDC before the announcement. At the time of writing, the only USDC trading pair listed on WazirX is against Tether (USDT), with $3,400 in daily volumes.
In contrast, BUSD has two trading pairs on WazirX, trading against the USDT stablecoin and the Indian rupee, with daily trading volumes amounting to $5,700 and $5,200, respectively.
Related: Circle co-founder says converged dollar books on Binance would be good for USDC
Launched by the regulated fintech firm Circle and crypto exchange Coinbase, USDC is the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, following USDT. At the time of writing, USDC’s market cap amounts to $50 billion, down more than $17 billion from the rival stablecoin USDT. BUSD, the third-largest stablecoin by value, has a market cap of $20.6 billion, according to CoinGecko.
This latest delisting of USDC comes shortly after Binance announced plans to remove USDC as a tradable asset from its platform. Similarly to WazirX, Binance said that it will auto-convert USDC, USDP and TUSD balances into BUSD to expand liquidity.
In August, Binance denied any equity ownership in WazirX after the Indian crypto exchange came under regulatory scrutiny. India’s Directorate of Enforcement previously froze more than $8.1 million in funds on WazirX as part of an Anti-Money Laundering investigation into the firm.