Bitcoin Withdrawals from Binance surged above $500m in just one day

Bitcoin Withdrawals from Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, have surpassed $500 million in the previous day as its CEO denounces “FUD.”

Binance’s BTC balance dropped by almost 30,000 BTC as of Dec. 13, according to data from the on-chain monitoring tool Coinglass.

FUD is “very unpleasant,” says CZ

Binance has joined other exchanges experiencing a fund exodus as the next hotspot for FTX fallout.

Coinglass estimates that users withdrew 30,300 BTC ($515 million) in the previous 24 hours, making up the majority of the 40,150 BTC total for the week.

The strange behavior is occurring as Binance fights what its CEO, Changpeng Zhao (commonly known as CZ), has dubbed “FUD” on social media.

The exchange may be the focus of a US money laundering lawsuit, according to a Reuters story, which originally caused nerves to fray, as Cointelegraph reported.

Zhao disputed this and provided a statement from Binance disputing the information in the story.

Later, however, rumors of significant token withdrawals by TRON CEO and founder Justin Sun heightened tensions.

Users immediately removed their own money from their accounts despite Zhao also criticizing his detractors and Sun making a $100 million deposit back to Binance. At the time this article was being written, some BUSD withdrawals were temporarily suspended.

In his most recent Twitter thread on the subject, Zhao stated that “FUD helps us progress, even though they are incredibly annoying”:

“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.”

The events mimic those from earlier in the FTX debacle, when exchange users en masse took custody of their funds. At the time, however, Binance’s BTC balance actually increased.