The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Senate Democrats are urging AG Pam Bondi to investigate Binance following reports that the crypto giant may be violating sanctions laws.
Richard Blumenthal sent Binance co-chief Richard Teng a letter asking him for records about the exchange’s dealings with Iran-linked entities and the alleged dismissal of its investigators.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal has opened an inquiry into crypto giant Binance following reports of potential sanctions violations.
The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Fortune all reported that investigators had been let go after identifying sanctions-violating transactions.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Binance now offers trading in select tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs through a partnership with Ondo Finance.
The world’s largest crypto exchange has listed a batch of tokenized U.S. equities issued by Ondo Finance on its Binance Alpha platform, reviving stock trading push.
Reports claim that internal investigators discovered that a substantial amount of crypto flowed into Iran through Binance accounts.
Users' bitcoin holdings in wallets linked to Binance have climbed to highest since late 2024.
Bitcoin's recent price crash towards $60,000 did more than just shave billions off market capitalizations or liquidate leveraged positions. It served as a massive, chaotic stress test that exposed a widening behavioral fracture between the two most dominant venues in the digital asset economy. On one side stands Coinbase, the largest US exchange, where Chief […]
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Bitcoin’s recent price decline has led to many traders betting on further downside, with on-chain data showing a notable increase in bearish positioning across major crypto exchanges. According to on-chain data from Santiment, aggregated funding rates have fallen into deep negative territory. This level of deep short positioning has not been seen with Bitcoin since August 2024, a period that ultimately established a major bottom before a powerful multi-month recovery. Bitcoin traders are now back to this level, and history shows that such extreme positioning can create the conditions for a rally. Funding Rates Show Bearish Positioning For Bitcoin Santiment’s “Funding Rates Aggregated By Exchange” metric blends funding data from multiple major exchanges to provide a good view of market sentiment and positioning pressure across the crypto industry. Related Reading: Why The Bitcoin Price Crash Toward $60,000 Was “Necessary” Funding rates are a mechanism used in perpetual futures markets where traders pay small fees to one another at regular intervals to keep contract prices aligned with spot prices. When funding rates are negative, short sellers are paying long traders. When they are positive, longs are paying shorts. The latest chart data from Santiment shows funding rates are now in negative territory, with red bars dominating the lower section of the chart. Funding rates are now less than -0.01%, which shows that a significant portion of derivatives traders are positioned for downside. More often than not, funding rates are positive, as shown in the chart below. According to Santiment, the last time derivatives funding reached similarly extreme negative levels was in August 2024. At that time, traders were shorting Bitcoin aggressively after a notable price crash. However, instead of continuing lower, the Bitcoin price action reversed sharply. Short liquidations helped contribute to an approximately 83% rally over the following four months as positions were forced to close. A similar setup occurred after Binance’s major liquidation event on October 10, 2025, when billions of dollars in long positions were wiped out. In the aftermath, traders turned sharply bearish and crowded into short positions. Extreme Shorting Can Lead To A Squeeze Extreme negative funding is a reflection of fear-based positioning. All that needs to happen for a short squeeze is for the Bitcoin price to push just a bit higher. Related Reading: Popular Tesla Investor Shares The Major Problem After Bitcoin Fell Below $70,000 If the price unexpectedly moves higher, leveraged shorts begin accumulating losses at a fast pace. Once those losses cross liquidation thresholds, exchanges automatically close those positions. Traders must buy back Bitcoin to cover their positions, and this, in turn, creates upward pressure on the price. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $68,740, but the short-term cost basis is around $90,900. A strong push and close above $75,000 could lead to bullish momentum and draw in fresh inflows, increasing the chances of a short squeeze. However, heavy shorting alone does not guarantee an immediate rebound, though it does create a fragile environment where positioning pressure can quickly change to sharp upside volatility. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
Bitcoin is still playing out a series of price actions that look like they may be entering a deeper correction phase. A technical analysis shared on social media platform X by crypto analyst Chiefy suggests that Bitcoin is repeating the macro structures seen after the 2017 and 2021 cycle tops. If the pattern continues to unfold with similar symmetry, the projection is that Bitcoin could fall to as low as $35,000 within days. Bitcoin Imitating 2017 And 2021 Cycle Structures Chiefy’s chart compares three major peaks: the $21,000 high in 2017, the $69,000 peak in 2021, and the recent all-time high just above $126,000. The important trend is that in both of the first two cases, Bitcoin experienced severe retracements exceeding 70% before eventually finding long-term bottoms. Related Reading: Why The Bitcoin Price Crash Toward $60,000 Was “Necessary” The first retracement kicked off just after Bitcoin broke above $21,000 in 2017, when it fell 84% during the 2018 bear market. After the $69,000 peak in 2021, the decline reached about 77%. Chiefy described the fractal alignment as nearly perfect, raising the possibility that the market could be approaching another capitulation phase similar to past cycles. The current correction from $126,000 is beginning to resemble those earlier downturns in structure. If Bitcoin were to repeat a similar percentage drop, price projections would place the cryptocurrency in the $30,000 to $35,000 range. The analyst goes even further, warning that such a move could unfold within the next 10 days if the pattern were to play out as it did before. Weak ETF Demand And Whale Inflows Adding To Bearish Pressure Various on-chain data are pointing to a cautious outlook among crypto investors. According to Glassnode, the 30-day simple moving average of net flows for both Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs has been negative for most of the last 90 days. This shows that there is currently no clear sign of demand strong enough to absorb the persistent selling pressure. Related Reading: Important Bitcoin Macro Cycle Durations You Should Know About Interestingly, CryptoQuant’s Whales Inflow Signal metric shows that the average monthly inflows of BTC to Binance from whales increased massively as Bitcoin fell from $95,000 to $60,000. These inflows rose from around 1,000 BTC in late January to nearly 3,000 BTC in February, with a notable spike of roughly 12,000 BTC on February 6 alone. Since February 1, seven trading days have recorded more than 5,000 BTC in daily inflows from this group of large investors. This type of movement shows an intensification of transfers to exchanges from large Bitcoin holders into Binance, a trend that undoubtedly contributed to the price crash. This is because rising exchange inflows are a reflection of increasing selling pressure. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $66,015, down by 1.7% in the past 24 hours. Featured Image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Independent blockchain analytics firms have recently reported growing use of stablecoins by Iranian entities to move funds outside traditional banking channels.
French police tracked two stolen phones to a train station and arrested the trio in Lyon, per local outlet RTL.
Binance is at the center of renewed speculation as the specter of insolvency has once again cast a long shadow over the crypto sector. Over the past weeks, rumors have emerged that the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is facing a liquidity crunch, and these rumors have spread across social media platforms, underscoring the fragility of […]
The post Binance bank run? Reserves show a $40B drop yet Bitcoin holdings rose to 655k BTC, so what changed? appeared first on CryptoSlate.
The Bitcoin price crash toward $60,000 has sparked debate across the crypto market, but recent analysis from BitQuant’s market experts explains why this move was inevitable and necessary. According to the firm, BTC’s sharp decline is not the result of widespread panic or manipulation but rather a natural development in its market structure. The firm explained that the recent local top, which exceeded $126,000, fell short of the expectations needed for healthy growth in the Bitcoin price. Early Top And Market Liquidation Disrupted Bitcoin Price Structure In a lengthy post on X, BitQuant reported that its local top for Bitcoin was initially set at $145,000, but this was never reached, leaving the cryptocurrency above $126,000 earlier in October 2025. According to the firm, this earlier-than-expected peak caused a structural failure that prevented the Bitcoin market from building a solid foundation for continued price gains. Related Reading: Popular Tesla Investor Shares The Major Problem After Bitcoin Fell Below $70,000 On October 10, during the devastating liquidation event, BitQuant noted that a technical issue at Binance had triggered a sudden drop in BTC, from approximately $120,000 to $105,000, adding volatility to its already fragile setup. While some may interpret this Binance issue as manipulation, the crypto company stressed that such events are common in markets, especially in Bitcoin markets. The firm also added that the liquidation and technical error were not significant enough to justify the entire downside that followed. BitQuant highlighted that the key point is that Bitcoin’s early price top disrupted its natural cycle of distribution and correction, which normally would have allowed its price to consolidate before attempting higher levels. Without a strong base, the market could not sustain strong bullish momentum, creating the bearish conditions that fueled BTC’s retracement toward the $60,000- $62,000 region. In a clean, structural scenario, the company stated that Bitcoin should have reached $145,000, distributed there, experienced a correction of about 25-30%, and then built a strong base before the next price expansion. New Structure Sets Stage For Future Expansion Although BitQuant has highlighted flaws in Bitcoin’s current market structure, the firm stated that the cryptocurrency has already established a new setup following its decline toward $60,000. The company noted that this updated price structure now supports a continuation toward BTC’s next expansion phase. Related Reading: Is Bitcoin A Better Investment Than Gold? Finance Expert Shares Deep Insights BitQuant further clarified that this is not the start of a new market cycle, but rather a continuation of the cycle that began around $16,000. The firm emphasized that the market’s performance and success in the coming months will depend on whether traders and investors view the next move as a new cycle or a progression of the current one. Although Bitcoin’s decline toward $60,000 shook the market, the cryptocurrency has since recovered slightly and is trading back above $67,000 at the time of writing. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
Binance is pushing back against claims that it played a central role in the massive liquidation wave that swept through crypto markets on October 10, an event widely described as the largest in the industry’s history. In the aftermath of roughly $19 billion in wiped‑out positions, some market participants accused the exchange of manipulating prices for its own gain. Binance co‑CEO Richard Teng has now addressed those allegations directly, insisting the platform was not “the sole trigger” of the turmoil and that the selloff hit the entire digital asset ecosystem. Binance Co-CEO Breaks Down $19B Liquidation Event Speaking about the incident, Teng said the sharp downturn was not isolated to Binance. Both centralized and decentralized exchanges experienced comparable spikes in liquidations at the same time, he noted. According to him, intense selling pressure emerged across trading venues as volatility surged. Teng attributed the market shock to external forces rather than internal exchange activity. He pointed to a mix of macroeconomic and geopolitical developments, including new US tariffs on China and broader uncertainty in global financial markets. These factors, combined with highly leveraged positions across crypto derivatives markets, created what he described as a “classic leverage flush.” Related Reading: Is Bitcoin Already Pricing A US Recession? Analyst Sees Major Risk‑Reward Setup Teng drew comparisons to traditional markets, noting that US equities lost $1.5 trillion in value on the same day, with about $150 billion in liquidations occurring in equities alone. By contrast, the crypto market—significantly smaller in size—saw $19 billion in forced position closures, spread across all major exchanges. While acknowledging that many users suffered losses, Teng said Binance took steps to support affected customers, adding that other exchanges did not implement similar measures. He also stressed that there were no signs of abnormal mass withdrawals from Binance during the episode. According to the company, there were no indications of internal technical failures or systemic weaknesses. The price action, Teng argued, was driven by exogenous market forces rather than any exchange‑specific issue. SAFU Fund Hits $1 Billion In BTC Despite the volatility, Teng struck a cautiously optimistic tone about the broader trajectory of digital assets. He said institutional investors continue to allocate capital to the sector, describing their participation as evidence that “smart investors are putting money to work.” While retail demand has softened compared to last year, he said investment from institutions and corporations remains resilient. In his view, the long‑term development of the industry should be judged by its fundamentals rather than short‑term price swings. Related Reading: UNI Rallies 10% As BlackRock Brings Treasury‑Backed BUIDL Token To Uniswap Alongside its comments on the liquidation event, the exchange announced it has completed a previously outlined $1 billion Bitcoin purchase plan for its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU). The exchange acquired 4,545 BTC worth approximately $304.58 million, bringing the reserve wallet’s total holdings to 15,000 BTC, currently valued at about $1.005 billion. Binance also stated that if the fund’s value falls below $800 million due to market declines or legal expenses, it will automatically replenish the balance back to $1 billion. At the time of writing, the exchange’s native token, BNB, is trading at $605. It has registered losses of 5% and 29% over the last seven and fourteen days, respectively. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
The crypto exchange finalized a 30-day plan to convert its stablecoin-backed user protection fund into 15,000 BTC, reinforcing bitcoin as its long-term reserve asset.
Binance has completed the $1 billion transition of its SAFU reserves into bitcoin, confirming the fund holds 15,000 BTC.
Every crypto exchange saw liquidations during the Oct. 10 liquidation event, Richard Teng told the crowd at CoinDesk's Consensus Hong Kong.
Institutions can now use Benji-issued tokenized money market funds as off-exchange collateral to trade on Binance using Ceffu’s custody layer.
The structure lets institutional traders keep assets in regulated custody while still deploying them in crypto markets.
The Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have rebounded from last week’s lows, providing optimism that the bottom may be in. This comes amid accumulation from whales while the crypto ETFs have seen notable inflows following last week’s outflows. Why The Bitcoin And Ethereum Prices Are Climbing Again The Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have pumped from their last week’s lows of around $60,000 and $1,900, respectively. BTC climbed to as high as $71,000, sparking bullish sentiments that the crash to $60,000 may have marked the bottom. These price surges have come on the back of significant accumulation from both retail and institutional investors. Related Reading: 5 Red Months In A Row: What’s Going On With Bitcoin And The Crypto Market? In an X post, on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain revealed two whales that are buying Bitcoin and Ethereum. These two newly created wallets are said to have withdrawn 3,500 BTC, worth $249 million, and 30,000 ETH, worth $63 million, from Binance, likely to hold these coins for the long term. Furthermore, Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have also rebounded due to renewed inflows into BTC and ETH ETFs. SoSoValue data shows that the BTC ETFs recorded a daily net inflow of $145 million yesterday, sustaining the momentum from last Friday, when they took in $371 million, after recording three consecutive days of outflows. Further data from SoSoValue shows that the Ethereum ETFs saw daily net inflows of $57 million yesterday, reversing the trend after seeing three consecutive daily net outflows. Tom Lee’s BitMine also continues to buy more ETH, which is a positive for the Ethereum price. Lookonchain revealed that BitMine bought 40,000 ETH, worth $83 million, yesterday. These purchases come just after the company announced it had purchased 40,613 ETH, valued at $82.85 million, last week. Related Reading: Ethereum Price Set To Break Out Against Bitcoin, But How High Can It Go? It is also worth highlighting external factors that have contributed to the recent rise in Bitcoin and Ethereum prices. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran appear to have cooled following talks last Friday, after initial reports that the talks were unlikely to proceed. Meanwhile, traders are beginning to price in the possibility of a rate cut in March after recent job reports came in weak. Bullish Case For BTC And ETH Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe has made a bullish case for the Bitcoin and Ethereum prices. In an X post, he stated that he expects to see more momentum coming in for BTC, with a clear breakout above $71,500 in the coming days. The analyst added that the pattern is comparable to the COVID crash, and he thinks a rally to between $78,000 and $80,000 could occur in the coming weeks. For Ethereum, Michaël van de Poppe stated that this is a “tremendous” opportunity to be looking at ETH because there is a massive gap to the ‘fair price.’ He added that ETH’s current valuation, based on the MVRV ratio, is just as underpriced as during notable crashes such as the peak of the 2018 bear market and the April 2025 crash when Trump announced reciprocal tariffs. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com
Bitcoin’s sharp selloff last week appears to have triggered one of the largest buy-the-dip episodes of this market cycle. Data tracking accumulator addresses showed a record surge of coins moving into wallets associated with long-term holding behavior, even as flows through exchange-traded fund (ETF) products stayed net negative. The timing mattered. The inflow landed right […]
The post Bitcoin whales just moved $4.7B dollars into cold storage while regular investors are busy panic selling the dip appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Ethereum (ETH) has declined noticeably over the past week, with price data from CoinMarketCap reporting a net 14% decline within this period. At the time of the most recent data, ETH is trading around $2,000, significantly lower than the past week’s level near $2,500. Related Reading: Ethereum Price Is Not Going To Keep Falling Forever, Analyst Says ETH Funding Rates Signal A Bullish Turn In a QuickTake post on the CryptoQuant platform, analyst Amr Taha draws attention to recent developments in ETH funding rates, a key sentiment indicator in perpetual futures. The funding rate shows the market sentiment, whether it’s optimistic/greedy (positive) or fearful/cautious (negative). Typically, when funding is highly positive or negative, it means that too many traders are on one side, positions are overleveraged, and then the market becomes unstable. At that point, even a small price move in the opposite direction can trigger liquidations, causing sharp and fast price moves. Although Ethereum’s funding rate was deeply negative over the week, analyst Amr Taha noted there has been a flip as ETH derivatives data shows a clear shift toward bullish positioning. Notably, Funding rates have turned strongly positive on BitMEX (Bitcoin Mercantile Exchange), reaching 0.049%, their highest level since October and well above the previous peak near 0.03. This signals aggressive leverage on the long side. Related Reading: XRP Price Has Just Reached Most Oversold Level In History And This Analyst Is Predicting A Bounce Extreme Optimism In ETH Could Spark Sharp Moves At the same time, ETH funding on Binance has moved from deeply negative levels at -0.025% on February 5 back towards neutral, indicating that short positions are being replaced by new long exposure. In essence, the market has moved from fear to optimism. While this shift reflects a rise in bullish sentiments, history shows that periods of extreme positive funding driven by leverage often increase the risk of liquidations and sharp corrective moves, rather than supporting sustained upside. In short, when everyone is bullish at the same time, the market becomes easier to knock over. In all, Ethereum Derivatives traders have become aggressively bullish, and while that can push price higher in the short term, history shows it often increases the risk of sudden corrective moves rather than a sustained uptrend. At the time of writing, Ethereum trades at $2,089 after a 14.9% decline in the past seven days. Meanwhile, the daily trading volume is down by 32.39% and valued at $37.39 billion. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Binance Coin (BNB) is facing a critical test as sustained selling pressure pushes the token toward a level many analysts now describe as its final short-term support. Since January 29, BNB has declined about 14.6%, underperforming Bitcoin over the same period and reflecting a broader shift in risk appetite across crypto markets. Related Reading: Standard Chartered Cuts 2026 Solana Prediction To $250, Eyes $2,000 By 2030 While the price has so far held above the $730 area, market participants remain divided on whether this level can continue to absorb downside pressure. The recent pullback has unfolded against a mixed backdrop. On higher timeframes, BNB is still trading above long-term swing levels, which has kept some recovery hopes alive. However, daily charts show a clear bearish structure after the price fell below former support near $820, suggesting that sellers remain in control for now. BNB's price trends to the downside on the daily chart. Source: BNBUSD on Tradingview $730 Support Under Close Watch As Structure Turns Bearish The $730 zone has acted as a reliable support since mid-2024 and was again defended during the latest sell-off. Analysts note that this level represents a convergence of historical demand and prior consolidation, making it technically significant. Despite the bounce, momentum indicators such as the Awesome Oscillator remain in negative territory, pointing to continued bearish pressure rather than a confirmed reversal. Volume data adds nuance to the picture. While recent selling pushed on-balance volume lower, the broader trend over the past month has been upward, hinting that not all participants are exiting positions aggressively. Even so, the loss of the December lows has shifted the daily market structure firmly to the downside. Below $730, the next notable support sits near $687. A decisive break of that area could expose BNB to a deeper retracement, potentially extending losses toward the mid-$600 range. BNB’s Supply Zones And Macro Factors Weigh On Recovery Attempts Any upside attempts are likely to face resistance between $780 and $840, where multiple supply zones are stacked. The former $820 support has now flipped into resistance, and analysts suggest that rallies into this range could attract fresh selling unless reclaimed decisively. Macro conditions are also influencing sentiment. Weakness in tech stocks, renewed expectations of higher-for-longer interest rates following recent Federal Reserve developments, and ongoing negative headlines linked to Binance have combined to limit risk appetite. Some short-term traders point to clean order blocks and harmonic patterns that could support a bounce if $730 continues to hold. However, most analysts agree that any recovery would likely require improved broader market conditions and a sustained move back above key resistance levels. Related Reading: Bitcoin Drop Below $80,000 May Not Be The Final Capitulation Event, Checkonchain Says For now, $730 remains the line in the sand. Whether it holds may determine if BNB stabilizes or if the current downtrend has further to run. Cover image from ChatGPT, BNBUSD chart on Tradingview