Binance's native token is hovering near 5-month lows and has shed 52% in 2022

• Binance's BNB token is hovering near a five-month low, suggesting faltering confidence in the world's largest crypto exchange.
• The crypto has lost more than half its value this year, and traders are worried it could drag down the rest of the sector.

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, has seen its native token BNB shed more than half its value this year. It's currently hovering near a five-month low just above $249 per token, after starting 2022 above $528.

The faltering crypto suggests investors are losing faith in Binance, which emerged as a victor over Sam Bankman-Fried and his collapsed exchange FTX last month.

Over recent weeks, however, customers have drained billions of dollars from Binance as concerns balloon over the firm's holdings of customer funds.

The company had enlisted accounting firm Mazars to conduct a "proof of reserves" report in a bid to reassure customers, but legal experts have warned that the review shouldn't be viewed as bulletproof.

And last week, Mazars paused all proof-of-reserves work for crypto clients, citing "concerns regarding the way these reports are understood by the public."

A critical component to FTX's implosion was the steep sell-off of its native token, FTT. Shark Tank investor and former FTX spokesperson Kevin O'Leary alleged in a testimony last week that Binance intentionally put FTX out of business.

Last month, CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao said he was selling its holdings of FTT, setting off a liquidity crisis at FTX that led to its eventual bankruptcy filing.