Binance’s Bitcoin holdings fell by $200 million after the cryptocurrency exchange and its former CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to U.S. federal charges.
Although CZ paid bail, prosecutors are attempting to keep him in the United States until he is sentenced.
Bitcoin has been moving from Binance to Coinbase since yesterday, based on on-chain data collected by CryptoQuant. The research firm recently found that Coinbase’s reserves decreased by 5,000 BTC compared to Binance, while Coinbase’s reserves increased by about 12,000 BTC.
Due to legal concerns, analysts believe retail investors are pulling money out of Binance and this is driving this movement.
Large amout of Bitcoin leaving Binance. Source: CryptoQuant
CryptoQuant analysts noted that retail investors are moving their funds away from Binance to compliant or licensed exchanges, which is reducing Binance’s Bitcoin holdings.
“The decline in Binance’s Bitcoin holdings appears to be the result of retail outflows,” Bradley Park wrote in a note.
Greta Yuan, head of research at Hong Kong-based digital asset platform VDX, said continued concerns are prevalent in the market due to recent legal challenges faced by the company.
In the near future, she expects users will tend to move their funds to compliant or licensed exchanges as a means of seeking peace of mind.
BTCUSD trading at $37364 today Chart: TradingView.com
Binance has previously leveraged its Bitcoin reserves to support the value of its token, BNB, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and many cryptocurrency commentators. Both CZ and Binance strongly refute these claims.
Blockchain company Nansen claims it recorded withdrawals of more than $1 billion from exchanges just one day after Zhao resigned and pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. Additionally, market liquidity decreased by 25% as market makers reduced their positions.
BNB seven-day price action. Source: Coingecko
The record $4.3 billion settlement between Binance and the DOJ includes $1.8 billion in fines for the cryptocurrency exchange, in addition to $2.5 billion in forfeitures. The agreement called for the exchange to withdraw from U.S. markets, require financial remittances and strict compliance guidelines.
The value of BNB fell by a significant 14% following the announcement of the agreement and CZ’s resignation, falling from $264 to $227. As of now, the amount is $233, a 20% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, U.S. prosecutors are demanding that Zhao be detained in the country instead of being returned to his Dubai residence until sentencing in February. Because he was implicated in failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering measures, the former Binance megaboss could face up to 18 months in prison.
Featured image from Freepik