Binance has found itself at the center of last night’s crypto market chaos, promising to compensate users after unprecedented volatility caused major disruptions on the platform.
The exchange said on Saturday that it will review individual cases where users suffered verifiable losses linked to technical malfunctions, as part of an effort to restore confidence after one of the most turbulent trading sessions of the year.
The market mayhem, triggered by a massive liquidation wave and record trading volumes, led to delays and system strain on Binance – particularly across certain staking and stablecoin products. Yi He, the exchange’s co-founder and chief customer support officer, took to X to apologize, admitting that the platform struggled to keep up with the extreme surge in activity. “When things go wrong, we take responsibility,” she wrote, adding that compensation would be available for users whose losses were caused by Binance rather than normal market movements.
At the center of the disruption were three key assets – the stablecoin USDe, Binance’s Solana staking token (BNSOL), and its wrapped staking token (WBETH). All three briefly lost their pegs late Friday, with USDe plunging more than 30% below $1. Binance confirmed that it is prioritizing cases involving these tokens as part of its review process.
Chief executive Richard Teng also issued a public apology, pledging that the exchange would “learn from what happened” and strengthen its systems to prevent future incidents. The former regulator, who took over from Changpeng Zhao in 2023, emphasized that Binance will not dismiss user complaints or hide behind excuses.
Yi He later clarified that traders who profited by buying depegged assets during the chaos will keep their gains, calling those purchases “fair market opportunities.” Meanwhile, affected wealth management clients and users who suffered liquidations due to latency issues will have their cases assessed individually.
The events coincided with one of the largest liquidation waves ever recorded in crypto history. Data from Coinglass shows roughly $19.3 billion in leveraged positions wiped out across global exchanges within a single day, hitting 1.7 million traders. Binance accounted for about $2.3 billion of those liquidations, ranking behind Hyperliquid and Bybit.
BNB, the exchange’s native token, slumped nearly 10% amid the turmoil but still held its position as the third-largest non-stablecoin asset by market cap.
The fallout has reignited debate about exchange stability and risk management. Crypto.com’s CEO Kris Marszalek urged regulators to scrutinize platforms with unusually high liquidation volumes, arguing that “consumer protection and market fairness must come before profit.”
As the dust settles, Binance’s promise to compensate affected users could be its most significant test since its leadership transition last year — and a defining moment for how the world’s largest exchange handles crisis management in an increasingly volatile digital economy.
