According to the latest reserve evidence report, Binance has witnessed a significant decrease in its Bitcoin holdings in November, with a reduction of over 23,000 BTC, equivalent to about 4%. This coincides with the exchange’s legal challenges with the US government.
Data from Binance’s website indicates that customer total BTC holdings were 584,659 BTC at the beginning of November. However, by the start of December, this balance had decreased to 561,003 BTC. This suggests a substantial withdrawal of assets from the platform amid the legal issues it is facing.
CryptoSlate Insight’s analysis has highlighted a different trend among Binance users during this period. The platform has seen a significant outflow of BTC from large holders, while the inflow mainly comes from retail users.
Supporting this observation, DeFillama’s data reveals that Binance experienced an outflow of over $2 billion in BTC from November 1st to December 1st.
Binance’s decrease in Bitcoin holdings comes as the exchange settles a $4 billion-plus deal with the US government over multiple alleged violations. Additionally, the exchange’s founder, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, stepped down as CEO after being charged with money laundering.
Binance’s website also shows that balances in other major cryptocurrencies have also experienced declines during this period. Ethereum holdings decreased by about 0.67%, from 3.91 million coins to 3.88 million as users withdrew their assets. Similar trends were observed in balances of assets like XRP, Litecoin, USDC, and Binance’s native token BNB.
In contrast, Binance saw its USDT balance increase by over 5%, reaching $15.2 billion. This increase coincides with over 860 million stablecoins deposited on the platform during the same period.
Some analysts believe that the rise in USDT balances on Binance is related to the increasing supply of the stablecoin in the market. As Binance maintains its position as a leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, crypto traders increasingly deposit their USDT for trading purposes on the platform.