Overview
- Speaking at Consensus Hong Kong on Feb. 12, Co-CEO Richard Teng denied Binance triggered the Oct. 10 sell-off and attributed the rout to macro and geopolitical shocks, including China rare-earth controls and new U.S. tariffs.
- He said about 75% of the roughly $19 billion in crypto liquidations occurred around 9 p.m. ET, coinciding with a brief USDe depeg and temporary asset-transfer slowness he described as isolated.
- Binance reported no evidence of mass withdrawals, said it supported affected users, and cited 2025 trading volume of $34 trillion and an estimated 300 million users to argue operational resilience.
- Traders and rival voices on X challenged the explanation, alleging API locks or misleading responses during peak volatility and pressing for greater transparency.
- Binance separately said it completed a $1 billion bitcoin purchase for its Secure Asset Fund for Users, bringing holdings to about 15,000 BTC and committing to automatic top-ups if the fund’s value falls below $800 million.