Binance Recovers Market Share Two Months After DOJ Settlement

The market share of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance has recovered significantly after plunging in the second half of 2023 due to several factors, including a massive settlement with U.S. regulators two months ago.

According to a tweet from crypto market data provider Kaiko, the market share of the leading trading platform has risen to 49%, up from multi-year lows recorded as the exchange navigated its legal hassles.

Binance’s Market Share Rebounds

2023 was a tough year for Binance. Although the exchange started the year strong with a 55% market share, it witnessed ailing on-chain activities that significantly declined its reserves and trading volumes.

As CryptoPotato reported, events like the end of the Zero-Fee Bitcoin trading promotion and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit in June dragged Binance’s market share below 50%.

The U.S. regulatory crackdown on the exchange peaked in November when the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $4.3 billion settlement with the trading platform over several charges, including a willful floundering of the Bank Secrecy Act. The agreement involved the resignation of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) from the CEO position, as he also pleaded guilty to failing to implement a strong anti-money laundering (AML) program on the exchange.

CZ’s departure from Binance further pulled the exchange’s market share to around 32%; however, a quick recovery brought it back to 48.7%.

Remarkable Resilience

It is worth noting that Binance’s reserves experienced a 20% decline from their all-time high, representing the platform’s biggest plunge in the past five years. The firm’s spot trading volume went below those of rival exchanges Coinbase and OKX for the first time since June 2020, while its bitcoin (BTC) deposit transactions fell to fresh lows.

While Binance witnessed a decline, other exchanges recorded significant spikes in their market shares. OKX and Bybit, whose shares experienced increases of 4.3% and 2.2%, respectively, were deemed the biggest beneficiaries. At the time, Kaiko found that Bybit’s market share grew by more than 20% in 16 hours.

Coinbase Pro was not left out. The leading U.S. platform received a substantial share of assets previously stored on Binance as the cryptocurrencies were withdrawn in droves following the DOJ saga.

Despite these issues, Binance continued to dominate the market, and its latest recovery signifies remarkable resilience in the face of hurdles.