Bitcoin’s $80,000 recovery faces liquidity questions as Binance’s Tether flows swing $14 billion
The 2026 Ethereum and Tron totals measure a treasury route, without proving an equivalent cash exit from crypto. Read the full story on CryptoSlateUnderstand the crypto stories that matter and what to watch next. Get The Catalyst in your inbox
Binance's stablecoin flows with Tether have reversed by nearly $14 billion, raising concerns about declining liquidity at the world's largest crypto exchange.
An Oct. 22 investigation by blockchain analytics firm Bitquery found that Binance-linked wallets transferred $23.1 billion in USDT to Tether during 2026 while receiving $15.6 billion, leaving a $7.5 billion net imbalance toward the issuer. That compares with a $6.4 billion net inflow during all of 2025.
The reversal coincides with a decline in Binance's tracked Ethereum stablecoin holdings from $43.9 billion in April to $38.8 billion on Oct. 22. The findings raise questions about how much buying power remains available on the exchange as Bitcoin struggles to regain momentum around $80,000.
Binance accumulated substantial stablecoin holdings throughout 2025, with its identified Ethereum wallets reaching a record $45.6 billion in November, more than triple their October 2024 balance.
That accumulation has since unwound. Stablecoin holdings slipped to $39.5 billion by July before falling to their lowest level since September 2025 this month, suggesting a decline spread over several months rather than a single withdrawal event.
The movement was most pronounced in Binance's largest cold wallet, which held about $28 billion in USDT at its peak but carried$16 billion on Oct. 22.
However, two other cold wallets accumulated a combined $6.2 billion over the same period. Bitquery accounted for those internal transfers when calculating the exchange's aggregate holdings, separating movements between Binance-controlled addresses from the broader reduction.
The transactions with Tether offer another perspective on that decline.