- Binance's CEO warned staff of "bumpy" times ahead, after it resumed withdrawals on Tuesday.
- FTX's collapse has drawn scrutiny on Binance, he said, after it faced billions of dollars of outflows in a matter of days.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao warned staff of difficult times ahead as the crypto exchange weathers scrutiny over its reserves.
In a company memo sent to employees seen by Bloomberg, Zhao, commonly known as "CZ" said the crypto industry is experiencing a "historic moment" in the wake of FTX's shocking collapse, but reassured staff that Binance "will survive any crypto winter."
"While we expect the next several months to be bumpy, we will get past this challenging period — and we'll be stronger for having been through it," he wrote. He added that FTX's problems have invited "a lot of extra scrutiny and tough questions" on Binance, referring to over $2 billion in customer withdrawals it faced on Tuesday. The bank-like run forced Binance to halt USDC withdrawals.
The large outflow of customer funds came amid concerns over the exchange's proof of reserves report published last week, and allegations that Binance has been involved in money laundering practices.
On Wednesday however, Binance announced it unfroze customer withdrawals, while Zhao noted deposits are returning to the exchange in a sign of stability.
"Things seem to have stabilized. Yesterday was not the highest withdrawals we processed, not even top 5. We processed more during LUNA or FTX crashes. Now deposits are coming back in," Zhao tweeted.
The crypto billionaire even welcomed the "stress test" of withdrawals, saying: "I actually think it is a good idea to 'stress test withdrawals' on each CEX on a rotating basis." He added it helps build the credibility for exchanges that pass the test.