Binance Will Lose Dominance After Plea Deal: Head of Digital Assets Research at VanEck
Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, is expected to lose its leading position following the guilty plea to US charges and a record $4.3 billion penalty.
While the total market value of cryptocurrencies has surged by 12% or $180 billion in the past week, Binance Coin (BNB), the platform’s native token, has missed out on most of the rally, adding only 1.7% to trade at $231 as of Thursday morning in London.
BNB is often seen as a reflection of sentiment towards the exchange since it offers holders benefits such as lower trading fees on Binance.
The platform has faced a series of regulatory probes throughout this year, culminating in guilty pleas on November 21 for anti-money laundering and sanctions violations in the United States.
Bloomberg data shows that BNB is the only major token that is still nursing a year-to-date loss.
Although Binance remains the dominant platform for buying, selling, and trading digital assets and crypto derivatives, its dominance is fading.
According to CCData, Binance’s share of spot trading volumes dropped from 55% at the beginning of 2023 to 32% in November. Its derivatives market share also declined from over 60% to 48%.
“We expect Binance will lose its throne as the No. 1 centralized exchange by volumes following the plea deal with US authorities,” said Matthew Sigel, the head of digital assets research at VanEck.
He added that rivals such as OKX, Bybit, Coinbase, and Bitget have the potential to seize the top spot.
Following the settlement with US authorities, Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty and resigned as CEO.
Richard Teng, a former civil servant turned crypto executive, took over as the new CEO and now faces the challenge of
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