BUSD launched in September 2019 with one of the cleanest regulatory stories in crypto: a New York-regulated trust company (Paxos) issuing a dollar-backed token in partnership with the largest exchange on the planet (Binance). Less than four years later, on February 13, 2023, the New York Department of Financial Services ordered Paxos to stop issuing new BUSD. The listing wind-down ran from that date through early 2024 — though, as the timeline below shows, the redemption path at Paxos outlasted it. This piece reconstructs the sequence, the legal mechanism, and the migration paths that holders actually used.
Paxos's February 13, 2023 announcement of the halt to new BUSD minting. This is an issuance notice, not a deadline for every holder's redemption. Screenshot taken September 2026.
Where BUSD sat in the stablecoin market before 2023
BUSD was used in Binance trading and savings products before the issuance halt. Distinguish Paxos-issued BUSD on Ethereum from Binance-Peg representations on other networks: their custody and redemption arrangements are not identical. A supply chart alone cannot show where every holder kept or used the token.
The token was issued by Paxos Trust Company under a New York limited-purpose trust charter. Paxos is the same company that issues USDP (its own branded stablecoin) and that issues PayPal's PYUSD. The "Binance USD" branding was a co-marketing arrangement: Binance promoted the token on its venue, Paxos retained the legal issuance and reserve-management responsibility. Reserves were attested monthly, held mostly in US Treasury bills and short-dated repos at the time of the NYDFS order.
February 2023 · the NYDFS letter
February 13, 2023 · evening ET
The New York Department of Financial Services issues a consumer alert ordering Paxos to cease issuing new BUSD effective February 21, 2023. The order does not require Paxos to redeem outstanding tokens or to wind the product down immediately; it simply prohibits new mints from that date forward. NYDFS cites "several unresolved issues related to Paxos' oversight of its relationship with Binance" as the rationale.
February 13, 2023 · same evening
Paxos publishes a statement confirming it will halt new BUSD issuance and will continue to support redemptions through at least February 2024. Paxos states it has "no relationship" with Binance.US, that the BUSD product as issued by Paxos has only ever been a Paxos product, and that customer reserves are unaffected. The statement is technically accurate but the public reads it as a separation.
February 13, 2023 · later
The US Securities and Exchange Commission separately notifies Paxos that it intends to sue Paxos over BUSD, alleging that BUSD is an unregistered security. The SEC's claim is a separate proceeding from the NYDFS action and a different legal theory: NYDFS focused on the oversight relationship, the SEC focused on the security classification. The SEC's Wells notice was reported in the press the same week but never resulted in a filed complaint.
The combination — a state regulator halting new issuance, a federal agency signalling potential securities enforcement, and a partner-issuer publicly distancing itself — was sufficient to mark BUSD as a product without a future. Binance read the signal early.
March to June 2023 · the slow unwind on Binance
After the issuance halt
Existing tokens and exchange products did not disappear when new minting stopped. Holders needed separate notices for trading, deposits, withdrawals and redemption; the halt itself did not set all those deadlines.
April–May 2023
Redemptions without new issuance reduce outstanding supply. They do not reveal which asset the redeemer bought next or whether an individual acted from fear, operational need or a planned migration. FDUSD's later listing should not be inserted into an earlier month's flows.
The exchange transition
Pair removals affect open orders and settlement routes separately from the token contract. The useful record is each product notice, not an inferred single date for the whole wind-down.
July 26, 2023
Binance's FDUSD listing notice schedules the opening of trading. First Digital Labs is the product brand, not the name of a Hong Kong trust-company issuer. Its current company page identifies FD121 (BVI) Limited; First Digital Trust's custody role is separate.
July to December 2023 · the migration runs
August 2023
Binance enables BUSD-to-FDUSD conversions at parity inside the exchange wallet, with the conversion fee subsidised. The behaviour is functionally an auto-migration option: users who do not want to redeem to fiat can swap to FDUSD in two clicks.
September 2023
More BUSD trading-pair removals announced, including several mid-volume pairs. The zero-fee promotion that Binance had been running on BUSD-quoted pairs is rolled into a new FDUSD-quoted promotion. The economic incentive to hold BUSD on the exchange disappears.
November 29, 2023 · notice later updated
Binance publishes its BUSD removal and FDUSD conversion notice. The updated version distinguishes December product removals from the later automatic balance conversion. Historical coverage using an earlier version can therefore give a different deadline.
December 15, 2023 · product support ends
The notice sets this date for the end of BUSD product support, with product-specific steps around it. Its December 6 update schedules withdrawal suspension and automatic conversion of remaining balances to FDUSD for January 2, 2024, rather than December 15.
2024 onwards · the redemption path that stayed open
February 2024
This is the month Paxos had named a year earlier, when it said it would support redemptions "through at least February 2024". A lot of secondary coverage read that phrase as a deadline and wrote it up as one. No closure followed. The redemption path carried on past that month and Paxos published no end date for it.
Where it stands now
Paxos's BUSD page, checked September 12, 2026, continues to describe USD redemption or USDP conversion for customers. Confirm account eligibility and the exact token with Paxos. The page is not evidence that every network representation or holder can redeem directly.
On the open market, separately
BUSD also changes hands on a handful of decentralised venues at whatever thin residual liquidity supports, which is not par. Two different things get conflated in most write-ups: what the issuer will do with the token, and what a shallow secondary pool happens to quote for it.
The migration routes and what each one proves
A token burn can show a supply reduction. It cannot, by itself, identify the redeemer's next purchase. The routes below distinguish issuer actions, exchange conversions and market trades without pretending that aggregate supply changes trace individual money flows.
Route
Starting asset
Destination
Relevant evidence
Limit
Issuer redemption
Eligible Paxos-issued BUSD
USD
Paxos terms and redemption record
Account and token eligibility
Issuer conversion
Eligible BUSD
USDP
Paxos current product page
Applicable account conditions
Exchange conversion
Binance account balance
FDUSD
Updated Binance migration notice
Historical product policy
Secondary-market sale
Specified token contract
Asset bought on the market
Actual trade and fee records
Available liquidity and price impact
Bridged representation
Binance-Peg or other wrapper
Route supported by its operator
Wrapper and venue documentation
Not automatically direct Paxos redemption
Binance's FDUSD conversion is documented. A ranking of other beneficiaries would require flow evidence beyond simultaneous market-cap changes. A USDT increase and a BUSD decrease do not establish that the same funds moved between them.
What the BUSD wind-down taught the desk
Lesson 1 · Issuer relationship risk is real and underpriced
NYDFS cited unresolved issues in Paxos's oversight of its Binance relationship. That rationale must not be expanded into a claim that every BUSD representation always had flawless backing. Issuer reserves, a wrapper's collateral and exchange product support are different questions. We separate them in stablecoin reserve transparency.
Lesson 2 · Regulators do not need a dramatic event to act
An issuance halt does not require a permanent token collapse. The stated oversight concerns were sufficient for this action. They do not establish that BUSD never deviated from its target or that no backing concern existed for a related wrapped token.
Lesson 3 · Migration paths are political, not technical
Binance offered FDUSD as a migration asset. That changed the token, issuer terms and reserve arrangements for a holder using the conversion. The notice establishes the route, not Binance's private motives or what each customer understood. First Digital Trust is a custody business and should not be substituted for FDUSD's issuing entity.
Practical note. If you still hold BUSD as a residual balance, start with the issuer rather than with a swap. Paxos's current BUSD page says redemption to USD, or conversion to USDP, is still available, and it names no cut-off date. So the first question is whether your holding and your account fall inside whatever scope Paxos applies today — check that page for your own case before you assume either way. Dumping into a thin on-chain pool below par is not the default move here; that is the fallback if the issuer path turns out not to be open to you.
What is left of BUSD in 2026
The existence of a contract or market listing does not establish a working redemption route. Identify whether you hold Paxos-issued BUSD or a representation on another chain, then check the operator's terms and a current executable quote. Paxos's product page still describes customer redemption or USDP conversion.
Circle and Binance announced their partnership on December 11, 2024, not in April. That later agreement is separate from the BUSD migration. A provider can develop other products while still maintaining a residual redemption process.
If you still have BUSD, check the exact token contract and the current redemption policy for your account. A wind-down can close a trading route even when an issuer continues to hold reserves.
Tracing the BUSD timeline
NYDFS Consumer Alert, "Re: Paxos Trust Company / Binance USD (BUSD)", February 13, 2023.
Paxos press release, "Paxos Will Halt Minting New BUSD Tokens", February 13, 2023.
Binance announcements, "Binance Will Cease Support for BUSD" series, June through December 2023, archived on the Binance announcements page.
Paxos BUSD product page, paxos.com/busd, checked September 12, 2026 — the current statement on minting and redemption.
CoinGecko and DeFiLlama historical supply data for BUSD, USDT, USDC, FDUSD, TUSD, January 2023 through March 2024.
SEC Wells notice reports — Bloomberg, Reuters, February 13-15, 2023.
If you spot an error in the timeline above, please write to [email protected] with the line — the corrections log is on the corrections page.
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