Crypto crash: $2.38B Binance transfer triggers liquidations
6.5 Security A $2.38B Binance hot wallet transfer triggered $628M in liquidations, sharp drops in Bitcoin and BNB, and $2.4B in stablecoins frozen by Tether and Circle.
The cryptocurrency market faced intense volatility after a Binance hot wallet transferred $2.38 billion in tokens—including $1.6 billion in Tether—to a previously unused address. Binance did not clarify whether this was a hack or an internal operation, leading to sharp market declines. Bitcoin fell from $80,327 to $78,763, while BNB dropped by as much as 6.3%. Liquidations of leveraged positions soared to $628 million within an hour, primarily affecting bullish traders. During the turmoil, attackers bought large amounts of TRX on the Tron network, causing its price to spike. Meanwhile, Tether and Circle froze up to $2.4 billion in stablecoins to mitigate potential losses. Key movements occurred between 21:20 and 22:15 (Madrid time), with the market bracing for the worst before more details emerged. The incident underscores the vulnerability of hot wallets and the systemic risks posed by the concentration of stablecoins on exchanges.
