Binance Delists Five Tokens, Causing Immediate Sell-Offs

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has announced plans to delist five tokens —Gifto (GFT), IRISnet (IRIS), SelfKey (KEY), OAX (OAX), and Ren (REN)— by December 10, 2024. 

Binance: Tokens do not Meet Industry Standards

The exchange announced the move in a statement on November 26, and attributed the decision to the tokens’ failure to meet the platform’s industry standards.

The delisting process will follow a structured timeline:

• November 27: Suspension of isolated and cross-margin borrowings for the affected tokens.
• December 3: Closure of arbitrage strategies, loans, and futures positions.
• December 10: Removal of trading pairs for the delisted tokens.
• December 11 and 12: Deposits and withdrawals of the tokens will no longer be supported.
• Post-December 13: Binance may convert the remaining balances of these tokens into stablecoins, though no guarantee has been provided.

The announcement triggered a sharp sell-off, with the affected tokens losing nearly 40% of their value. 

However, note that nany of these tokens had already seen diminished trading activity in recent months. 

REN’s trading volume, for example, fell from $34 million in March to $6 million in November, while OAX’s volume plummeted from $101 million in March to $468,000 in October. These declines highlight liquidity and adoption challenges, which are often red flags for both projects and investors.

Down They Go

Binance said these tokens failed the standard criteria but did not specify which, rather it just outlined general factors it evaluates for listings, including development teams’ commitment, the quality and progress of the projects, trading volume and liquidity, and resilience against security threats.

Binance urged affected token holders to manage their holdings before the final deadlines. However, it was too late already.

Community reactions have been mixed, with some users expressing frustration over developers’ perceived lack of communication. For instance, members of the Gifto community criticized the project for failing to provide updates on social media, further eroding confidence.