Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) denied allegations that his exchange sold Bitcoin to keep BNB afloat, per a June 13 tweet.
The exchange CEO tweeted that “Binance have not sold BTC or BNB, adding that the exchange still holds “a bag” of bankrupt FTX’s FTT.
His statement was in response to market analysts who alleged that Binance was wash-trading BNB’s trading volume in order to keep prices above a certain threshold, specifically the $220 mark.
“It is amazing they can know exactly who sold based on just a price chart involving millions of traders. FUD.”
Market speculates CZ sold BTC
Crypto analyst by the name of JW said on June 12 that Binance was selling “spot Bitcoin at an alarming rate” to defend the BNB token price from dropping below $220.
The analyst said:
“As spot Bitcoin is sold off, BNB is purchased, which defends the $220 liquidation but also caps the upside potential of Bitcoin”
The analysts claims were further corroborated by analytics platform Skew research, which claimed that Binance had been selling BTC for USDT, and used the proceeds to pump BNB since May 27.
Can confirm this is true,
Looks like BTC is being sold off for USDT reserves
USDT reserves are being pumped into BNB aggressively since 27th May
BNB is being sold off for BUSD to suppress volatility in BTC
BUSD is pumped into BTC to suppress downside volatility so BTC can be… https://t.co/yZ4VEtOjuR pic.twitter.com/MIYkLcvfOX
— Skew Δ (@52kskew) June 13, 2023
The platform noted that BNB was being sold off for BUSD to subdue Bitcoin volatility. It added:
“This is technically market manipulation, Binance is definitely up to something here to prevent BNB from crashing as well BTC.”
Another analyst by the name of Joe Consorti said there was unusual price-action on Binance.
Meanwhile, market analyst Joe Consorti pointed out that there was an unusual price action on Binance. Consorti added:
“Loads of selling pressure on bitcoin not present on other exchanges. More cannon fodder that they may be selling spot BTC to prop up BNB.”
According to these reports and allegations, Binance was defending $220 to prevent a “liquidation waterfall”.
According to DefiLama data, the BNB ecosystem faces a $200 million liquidation cascade if prices fall below $220. One DeFi researcher by the name of Ignas characterised the situation as “the single largest potential liquidation in all DeFi that cannot be closed.”
BNB is up 2%
Despite the allegations and regulatory overhand,, BNB is up around 2% in 24 hours, exchanging hands at $248 at the time of writing, per tradingview data. Bitcoin and Litecoin are flat on the day, holding at $25,900 and $77, respectively.
Earlier this week, Binance.US faced liquidity issues as market makers exited the platform due to SEC enforcement. BNB is one of many digital assets the SEC labelled a security in its June 5 lawsuit against Binance—a charge disputed by the exchange. On Tuesday, a federal judge set a June 15 deadline for the SEC and Binance.US to resolve pending matters in a bid to avoid damaging cryptocurrency markets.
Join the telegram channel for updates, charts, ideas and deals.
Did you like the article? Share it!
