SEC Lawsuits Fuel Bitcoin and Ethereum Exodus From Exchanges: Nearly $1 Billion Withdrawn in 7 Days

It has been six days since Binance faced a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and five days since Coinbase encountered a similar legal challenge. In the wake of these events, a substantial amount of bitcoin and ethereum has been withdrawn from exchanges, with data revealing that nearly $996 million worth of ETH and BTC has been removed from centralized trading platforms.

Exchanges Witness Significant Bitcoin and Ethereum Outflows in Wake of SEC Lawsuits

Less than a week has passed since the SEC took action against two of the world’s largest exchanges, with Binance’s lawsuit occurring on June 5, 2023, and Coinbase’s lawsuit following suit on June 6. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, record outflows from Binance have been observed, and cryptocurrency enthusiasts have been extensively withdrawing bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) from centralized exchanges.

According to data collected from cryptoquant.com, 2.155 million BTC were held on centralized trading platforms the day prior to Binance’s lawsuit. Since then, however, 22,263 BTC valued at $574.15 million using current exchange rates have been withdrawn. As of 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Sunday morning, there were 2.133 million BTC held by various exchanges. A similar trend is evident in ethereum (ETH) withdrawals, as 15.96 million ETH were held by exchanges last Sunday on June 4, 2023.

A Game of Musical Chairs: While Binance’s Weekly Outflow Surged, Other Exchanges Record Significant Inflows

Presently, that figure has decreased to 15.72 million ether, indicating that approximately 241,366 ETH valued at $422.78 million was removed using today’s ether exchange rates. In total, between bitcoin and ethereum, $996.94 million in value has been withdrawn from centralized trading platforms within the past week. A multitude of individuals have transferred funds away from exchanges, but data shows some deposited this cryptocurrency into different trading platforms. It appears as though some BTC whales are engaging in a game of musical chairs.

For example, data from coinglass.com indicates that Binance experienced withdrawals totaling 40,427 BTC during the past seven days, with 7,008 BTC removed in the last 24 hours alone. In contrast, Coinbase witnessed an addition of 2,959 BTC to its reserves this week, though 20 BTC were withdrawn in the past day. While Binance experienced outflows, the subsequent top four exchanges saw noticeable inflows. After Coinbase, Bitfinex received deposits of 1,556 BTC, Okx added 3,772 BTC to its reserves, and Gemini saw an influx of around 1,070 BTC within the past week.

What do you think about the bitcoin and ethereum being removed from exchanges over the past week? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.