Binance’s CZ Says It Is ‘Business As Usual’ After Bank Run; Resumes USDC Withdrawals

Changpeng Zhao, the co-founder and CEO of the world’s largest crypto exchange platform by trading volume, Binance, said it’s “business as usual” after the exchange endured a wave of withdrawals. The CEX paused withdrawals of the stablecoin USDC for a few hours Tuesday but has now resumed after the scheduled maintenance.

CZ, as he is more popularly known in the crypto space, said that Binance saw new withdrawals of around $1.14 billion but downplayed that it is just “business as usual” to the exchange amid concerns about reserves.

“We saw some withdrawals today (net $1.14b ish). We have seen this before. Some days we have net withdrawals; some days we have net deposits. Business as usual for us,” CZ tweeted.

The crypto executive noted that “stress test withdrawals” on exchanges are actually good and should be made on a “rotating basis.”

“It costs some network fees to run these ‘tests’. But keeps the industry healthy. Exchange business is simple,” he wrote in another tweet, quoting his previous post on Nov. 18.

“If an exchange holds users’ assets as is, no amount of other people’s tweets will cause problems. Simple,” CZ said at the time when FTX crashed and investors were doubtful of centralized exchange platforms.

The surging outflows from Binance supposedly prompted the exchange to temporarily pause withdrawals in USDC stablecoin. The momentary halt rattled investors, with several speculating that Binance might suffer the same fate as FTX.

But Binance and CZ offered an explanation for the pause in USDC withdrawals.

“On USDC, we have seen an increase in withdrawals. However, the channel to swap from PAX/BUSD to USDC requires going through a bank in NY in USD. The banks are not open for another few hours. We expect the situation will be restored when the banks open,” CZ explained.

“These are 1:1 conversions, no margin or leverage involved. We will also try to establish more fluid swap channels in the future. In the meantime, feel free to withdraw any other stablecoin, BUSD, USDT, etc.,” the crypto executive further said.

Interestingly, just before Tuesday noon E.T., Binance announced that the “$USDC withdrawals are back online.”

Many speculated that the wave of withdrawals on Binance was an elaborate and planned attack to crash the exchange. Others claimed it could be Sam Bankman-Fried’s attempt considering that he is blaming CZ for what happened to his crypto empire FTX.

In a recent tweet, CZ noted that “FUD helps us grow, even though they are thoroughly annoying.”

He added, “You can FUD about someone without explicitly mentioning their name, which spreads awareness. It also helps unite their supporters because it forms a common defense alliance.”