BINANCE saw withdrawals of US$1.9 billion in 24 hours, blockchain data firm Nansen said on Tuesday (Dec 13), as the cryptocurrency exchange “temporarily paused” withdrawals of the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin.

This marked Binance’s largest daily outflow since at least June, and accounted for a majority of the US$2.2 billion in Ethereum-based withdrawals in the last seven days. Cryptocurrency news outlet CoinDesk reported earlier that the exchange saw outflows of US$902 million on Monday.

Binance last week tweeted a “proof of reserves” report that showed its holdings of Bitcoin exceeded customer deposits on a single day in November.

A Nansen spokesperson said that the increased withdrawals were a result of “growing uncertainty” about this report. Traders told Reuters that it sparked a drop of almost 4 per cent in Binance’s BNB token.

The Nansen data came as the exchange halted withdrawals of USDC, citing a “token swap”, where digital token holders exchange their cryptocurrency coins, typically over different blockchains. It had said in September that it would convert user balances and new deposits of USDC and two other stablecoins into its own stablecoin, Binance USD.

Chief executive Changpeng Zhao tweeted: “On USDC, we have seen an increase in withdrawals.”

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Zhao said that swapping USDC with two other tokens, Paxos Standard and Binance USD, required using traditional dollars at a bank in New York. “The banks are not open for another few hours. We expect the situation will be restored when the banks open,” he added.

Binance, whose dominance of cryptocurrency was cemented by the bankruptcy of rival exchange FTX, has been under pressure from authorities. Reuters reported on Monday that splits between prosecutors at the US Department of Justice have delayed the conclusion of a long-running criminal investigation focused on Binance’s compliance with anti-money laundering laws and sanctions.

Binance did not immediately respond to requests for comment. REUTERS