Binance’s reserves have reportedly declined by approximately $8 billion over the past week, following a recent market crash that fueled widespread speculation and criticism directed at the world’s largest exchange.
Since a major liquidation event last Friday, Binance has faced intense scrutiny, with some observers suggesting the exchange may have intentionally underreported the scale of liquidations. Rumors of a potential US government shutdown of Binance have also gained traction.
Rumors and Reality: Separating Fact from Fiction
However, on-chain data offers a more nuanced view. CryptoQuant senior analyst Julio Moreno shared on his X account Thursday that Binance’s reserves, based on key assets like BTC, ETH, and USDT, have dropped by about $8 billion.
Moreno quickly put this figure into perspective, stating, “Reserves have taken a hit, but nothing out of the ordinary. Just a few weeks ago, reserves were growing by almost $14 billion.”
Tether USD(ERC20): Exchange Reserve – Binance. Source: CryptoQuant
Moreno further explained that Binance’s total reserves still “are still hovering all-time highs in US$ terms, ~$135 billion for the assets shown.” He added that USDT reserves have reached a new all-time high of $38.2 billion (ERC20 token).
Despite this, other data points paint a picture of broader market fear. Data from Coinglass’s Crypto Exchanges Assets Transparency shows that over the past seven days, more than $30 billion has flowed out of centralized exchanges, with Binance alone seeing over $21 billion in outflows.
Binance Under Fire from Industry Figures
Predicting when the current wave of speculation will subside is difficult. In addition to the fund outflows, Binance is facing criticism on other fronts. Jeff Yan, co-founder of Perp DEX Hyperliquid, recently targeted some centralized exchanges, claiming they “under-report user liquidations by as much as 100x.”
Last Friday, the crypto market’s sharp downturn followed news that the US was considering an additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods. CoinGlass reported that over $19 billion was liquidated in 24 hours. Yan’s comments suggest the accurate liquidation figure could be significantly higher.
In the wake of this market instability, rumors have spread among nervous investors that Binance might halt withdrawals. A prominent Solana investment influencer on X, @CryptoCurb, asserted, “someone that’s been in the industry for 10 years now, something of this magnitude with a known centralized cause, does NOT get brushed under the rug.” He emphasized, “REMOVE YOUR FUNDS FROM BINANCE IMMEDIATELY.”
