What’s going on with Binance: $1.9 billion withdrawn from the exchange in 24 hours, CEO rumored to be investigated

Binance suffered a wave of withdrawals amid reports that their reserve asset information was somewhat shady.

According to data from blockchain-based data analytics platform Nansen on the morning of December 13, about $1.9 billion has been withdrawn from Binance in the past 24 hours.

Binance – the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, suffered the above wave of withdrawals amid reports that Binance’s reserve asset information is somewhat shady.

Nansen statistics show that the amount of withdrawals from Binance in the last 24 hours is higher than all other centralized exchanges combined.

According to blockchain data platform Arkham Intelligence, since the bankruptcy of Sam Bankman-Fried FTX exchange last month, this is the second largest withdrawal in the cryptocurrency market and the largest in Binance history in the past five years. .

At this time, Binance has not yet responded to a request for comment on the massive withdrawal.

However, an Arkham analyst said that this “doesn’t seem too unusual” compared to the $64 billion in assets that Binance has under management.

This withdrawal follows a series of reports involving Binance and investors becoming increasingly cautious about their funds on the centralized exchange. The rapid collapse of FTX and the failure of others in the industry has prompted exchanges to demonstrate good control of customer assets.

Reuters reports that US prosecutors are looking into criminal charges over the money laundering capabilities of Binance and its senior executives, including CEO Changpeng Zhao.

These prosecutors believe there is enough evidence to charge Zhao and his subordinates, but some say they still need more time to investigate more thoroughly. After that, Binance’s lawyers had meetings with representatives of the US Department of Justice to resolve the matter. According to Reuters, the two sides mentioned the possibility of Binance accepting a fine. The above information immediately caused volatility on the exchange.

However, Binance has denied this information but did not provide any clear evidence. Zhao considers this a FUD attack (the term in crypto for fear and suspicion) and urges his Twitter followers to “ignore FUD.”

Blockchain data shows that major crypto market makers Jump Trading and Wintermute are two of those who have quietly moved large sums of money from Binance in the past 7 days.

According to Nansen analyst Andrew Thurman, Jump Trading appears to be the biggest pullout from Binance. Specifically, the amount withdrawn by the wallet associated with Jump is 146 million USD, including 102 million BUSD, 14 million USTD and 10 million ETH. Jump Trading wrote on Twitter that the company is still well-capitalized, but did not specify losses or capital risks to FTX. Meanwhile, Wintermute has withdrawn 8.5 million wBTC and 5.5 million USDC.

Neither unit has yet responded to media requests for comment on the matter.

Source: Coindesk, Reuters