Binance Exchange Reserve Soars 10% as the Company Turns 7

Binance continues to defend its heft as the largest crypto trading platform by trading volume metrics globally. As the exchange turns seven, reports indicate that its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings continue to grow.

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, continues to see its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings increase. According to data from CryptoQuant, Binance Exchange's BTC holdings have risen by 10% since early 2024, while other exchanges saw their BTC holdings decrease by 8%.

The report comes as Binance announced its seventh anniversary on Wednesday with a new limited-time referral promotion. Eligible users will share up to 700 BNB in token vouchers.

“When the user (‘referrer’) successfully invites a new Binance user, the referrer will receive a 0.01 BNB token voucher and the new user will receive a 0.005 BNB token voucher.”

The development follows recent regulatory actions against Binance by authorities in various jurisdictions. Among them, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took aim at the trading platform for allegedly artificially inflating trading volumes.

“Through thirteen charges, we allege that Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and Binance entities engaged in an extensive web of deception. Conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law are some of the other crimes,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler wrote.

The financial regulator also called Binance out for diverting customer funds and failing to restrict U.S. customers from its platform. It reportedly also misled investors about its market surveillance controls. Others cited violations, including enabling the trading of crypto tokens that are deemed securities.

Meanwhile, Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based crypto exchange on trading volume metrics, is among exchanges whose Bitcoin holdings have dwindled. This is particularly interesting given that Coinbase has a competitive edge by being the custodian for most spot Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded funds) issuers in the U.S. However, Tolou Capital Management founder Spencer Hakimian says Coinbase's role among ETF issuers could be the problem.

“Many ETFs within the US are likely hurting Coinbase's target market. Less so for Binance,” Hakimian wrote.

The arrival of spot ETFs in the U.S. cemented Coinbase's case, with its CEO Brian Armstrong trumpeting the exchange. Lawyer John E. Deaton, a prominent XRP advocate, also chimed in. He remarked on how Coinbase “will be a big winner” as the exchange stood at the center of the ETF campaign.

“Coinbase will be a big winner. I expect to see BlackRock and Vanguard buy more. By the way, 90% of Gary Gensler’s $120 million fortune is with Vanguard,” Deaton noted.