Trust Restored? Binance Attracts $2.8 Billion in Just 24 Hours

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance is witnessing a significant turnaround in capital flows, founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has claimed in a recent X post. The former CEO of the platform said the exchange has seen $2.8 billion in net inflows in the last 24 hours, a significant improvement after the latest hack that caused the platform to bleed funds for a while. 

CZ tweeted:

CZ, in an attempt to promote third-party reporting, retweeted a post by Mars BNB showing strong recovery flows into the cryptocurrency exchange. This is a sharp turnaround for the exchange, as it had continued to bleed funds for several days. 

Binance Steadies After Historic Crypto Hack

Binance experienced crypto’s largest hack in its history, worth roughly $6.3 billion, last week. The cryptocurrency exchange temporarily paused withdrawals while investigating the attack and updating its security infrastructure. Withdrawals resumed only on Sunday at the start of this month, and even then in phases to avoid a major episode.

The resumption of withdrawals, the release of proof of reserves, the freezing of more than $2 billion in stablecoins, and CZ’s immediate intervention helped mitigate a situation that could have easily spiraled out of control. Binance officials insist that the vast majority of affected assets (roughly 95%) are replenished, with major tokens such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, BNB, etc. set to have full backing. The exchange’s overall assets are worth around $171 billion, and it remains profitable.

Independent on-chain reporters like DefiLlama and others identified major outflows from the company in the immediate aftermath of the hack. However, the situation eventually changed for Binance, as later reporting put net inflows around $2.3 billion, still less than the $2.8 billion figure touted by CZ. 

The Future

The swift reversal of the withdrawal trend shows that users still have confidence in the exchange’s operations despite the recent security fiasco. Some critics predicted that heavy outflows would eventually leave the exchange illiquid. Recent independent reporting shows the exchange is recovering well, but it remains at risk because of the impact on its balances.

Binance claims to have updated its security protocol and will likely identify and mitigate shortcomings over time. However, the future remains risky as crypto hacks rise and infiltrators use AI to supercharge their activities.