Billions of dollars have flowed out of Binance, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, as the industry struggles with the high-profile fallout of FTX.
Though these “stress test withdrawals” cost some network fees, they do have a positive effect in the sense that such testing “keeps the industry healthy,” he added.
The collapse of FTX has shaken cryptocurrency markets, even affecting prices of the top digital currency, Bitcoin. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Bitcoin was trading close to $20,000. As of Dec. 14, it was trading at around $17,800, down more than 11 percent.
Falling Interest, Binance’s Asset Proof
A recent research report by Citi states that the digital asset market has been characterized by a series of negative shocks in the past year. Institutional interest has fallen, it noted.The failure of many centralized entities and the “loss of trust” is reflected in exchange-traded product flows that have remained negative during this period, the report said, according to CoinDesk. Compared to an 18 percent drop in the S&P 500 Index, the crypto market cap has fallen by 61 percent.
“Leverage, volatility, and interest have faded as investors battle with declining prices,” analysts wrote in the report. “Retail interest has broadly diminished as prices have declined [and this has] coincided with a more general decline in volatility.”
Binance had recently released a “proof of reserve” report detailing its assets and liabilities in a bid to assure investors about the safety of their deposits. The company claims that Binance has funds that cover all user assets in a 1:1 ratio.
Speaking to the outlet, Hal Schroeder, a former Financial Accounting Standards Board member and investment manager who teaches accounting at Rutgers University, said that the report means little since information about Binance’s internal controls is not available.
“We don’t know how good Binance’s systems are to liquidate assets to cover any margin loans,” he said. “And we know in the United States, even with all the good systems, banks have occasionally been caught off-guard. In light of what we’ve seen in the Bahamas [FTX collapse], I don’t want to conclude that all the systems are that good.”