CZ departure, Binance deal lead to purge of $175M of crypto longs

As crypto exchange Binance and the departure of its CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao hit the headlines in the last 24 hours, the digital asset space went into a rollercoaster mode that saw the market liquidate close to $175 million for traders betting on long positions.

On Nov. 21, developments in Binance and CZ’s case with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) saw CZ announce he would plead guilty to violating Anti-Money Laundering laws and step down as the CEO of Binance. In addition, the DOJ also announced a $4.3 billion settlement with Binance, and the exchange appointed a new CEO.

Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance. Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself.

Binance is no longer a baby. It is…

— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) November 21, 2023

Events at Binance — one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world — have repercussions on the markets. According to crypto derivatives data platform CoinGlass, $175 million worth of crypto longs were liquidated in the last 24 hours. On the other hand, $51 million in short positions got purged. 

In the last 24 hours, the market liquidated over $226 million in crypto assets. According to the data platform, 92,742 traders were liquidated within the time frame. The most significant order happened on crypto exchange Bybit’s BTC/USD pair, where around $2.35 million got liquidated. 

Related: Binance $3.9B USDT move gains community attention amid DOJ settlement claims

Apart from liquidations, the news may have also affected the flow of crypto assets in the Binance exchange. According to data aggregator DefiLlama, Binance exchange asset inflows have fallen by over $1 billion in the last 24 hours. The market movements show that some traders have stopped depositing their assets into the exchange for the time being.

On Nov. 21, Binance’s BNB (BNB) token went on a rally, defying the overall market sentiment on the day. However, the rally was short-lived as news of the DOJ settlement emerged. BNB broke into a five-month high of $271.9 before falling back to $237 at the time of writing.

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