According to crypto data tracker WhaleAlert, $2 billion worth of BTC was moved from Binance. In a tweet, it reported that 127,351 BTC worth $2,062,504,721 were transferred from Binance to an unknown wallet.
🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 127,351 #BTC (2,062,504,721 USD) transferred from #Binance to unknown wallethttps://t.co/zNYPuJuoRe
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) November 28, 2022
This garnered a whole lot of speculation on Crypto Twitter, given that the market remains under pressure with Bitcoin down 2% at $16,221.
Addressing this, Binance CEO Chanpeng Zhao took to Twitter to clarify that $2 billion worth of BTC was moved as part of the proof-of-reserve audit. According to him, the auditor needed a specific amount of BTC to be sent to show how Binance wallets were controlled.
This is part of the Proof-of-Reserve Audit. The auditor require us to send a specific amount to ourselves to show we control the wallet. And the rest goes to a Change Address, which is a new address. In this case, the Input tx is big, and so is the Change. Ignore FUD! https://t.co/36wUPphIZk pic.twitter.com/2NkH5L5J9j
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 28, 2022
The concerns follow as, after the FTX fallout, there have been significant withdrawals from exchanges, with a gradual shift toward self-custody. According to Santiment, the Bitcoin reserve on exchanges has fallen to historical lows, dropping below the record 7% mark. Currently, just 6.95% of Bitcoin is sitting on exchanges.
This comes as Bitcoin outflows from exchanges in the past week reached an all-time high. Coinglass data shows a whopping 128,751 BTC pulled from exchanges over the past seven days.
Binance shows proof of reserve
In the wake of the FTX fallout, several cryptocurrency exchanges have recently published their proof of reserves. In the past week, cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced the release of its Proof of Reserves system, starting with Bitcoin first.
Binance provided a snapshot of account balances and Bitcoin reserves, of which it claims to have 582,485 BTC sitting in its reserves, while its users have a net balance of 575,742 BTC.
In recent events regarding the FTX collapse, the Bahamian government blasted the new FTX CEO and restructuring officer, John J. Ray III, in an escalating fight over what remains of Sam Bankman-Fried’s collapsed empire.
