Exchanges pledged $2.5B to user protection funds amid FTX’s collapse: Report

According to a new report published by blockchain analytics firm Nansen on June 14, most reputable cryptocurrency exchanges adopted user protection funds amid the collapse of FTX. Together, exchanges such as Binance, OKX and Bitget have more than $2 billion combined in nominal fiat protection funds. Meanwhile, Huobi’s insurance fund is collateralized by 20,000 Bitcoin (BTC), while Coinbase grants up to 150,000 British pounds ($189,140) worth of insurance to U.K. customers’ accounts. The Nansen researchers wrote:

“Proof of Reserves should become the minimum standard in the exchange industry, However, as stated above, these are both positive indicators for an exchange but do not guarantee its solvency.”

Among other items, Binance has maintained the top spot with regard to both spot and derivatives trading volume. In the spot sector, the exchange had an overall market share of 69% and a monthly trading volume of $209.5 billion in May. In the spot markets, Kraken’s trading volume increased the most, gaining 14.35% to reach $18.9 billion in the six months following FTX’s collapse, compared with the preceding six months. Meanwhile, Bitfinex’s trading volume fell the most, dropping 59.5% to $5 billion in the same period.

As for crypto derivatives, all exchanges saw declines amid FTX’s collapse except for Bitget, whose average six-month trading volume increased by 4.85% sequentially to $204.1 billion. Bitget, Bybit and Binance have performed relatively well since the FTX collapse, the researchers wrote. Nevertheless, Nansen cautioned that the uncertain regulatory environment in the United States casts a shadow on exchanges’ growth:

“The SEC Chair Gary Gensler has posited that nearly all tokens are securities. This has prevented many exchanges from operating in the US. If the US takes this official position, it could cause significant issues throughout the world for CEXs. It will be worth carefully monitoring the position taken here.”

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