Binance converts $1B emergency fund to USDC

Share this article

Binance has converted $1 billion from its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) into Circle’s stablecoin USD Coin (USDC), effectively placing the fund to represent approximately 3% of the stablecoin’s total circulating supply.

The SAFU was established in 2018 to protect Binance users in extreme situations, such as exchange hacks, by reimbursing them for unforeseen losses. The fund was previously held in three wallets, denominated in Bitcoin, Tether, True USD, and BNB.

“We are transferring 100% of SAFU’s assets to USDC,” Binance stated, adding that the move is aimed at “making use of a trusted, audited, and transparent stablecoin,” to protect its users and enhance reliability.

According to data from Etherscan, the SAFU wallet address made a transaction of 800 million USDC on Ethereum at 02:35 UTC for a transaction fee of just $1.88. The conversion process also involved a transfer of 1.36 million BNB, worth around $754 million, and 16,277 BTC.

This is the second conversion of the SAFU in just over a year. In March 2023, Binance replaced the Binance USD (BUSD) holdings in the fund with Tether (USDT) and TrueUSD (TUSD) in response to a regulatory crackdown on BUSD issuer Paxos, which announced that it would stop minting the exchange-backed stablecoin.

With a circulating supply of $32.6 billion, USDC is the second-largest stablecoin in the market, commanding a market share of around 20%. The stablecoin’s supply has increased by 33% since December. Tether, however, remains the dominant stablecoin, with a record-high circulating supply of $108 billion and a market share of 69%.

Share this article

The information on or accessed through this website is obtained from independent sources we believe to be accurate and reliable, but Decentral Media, Inc. makes no representation or warranty as to the timeliness, completeness, or accuracy of any information on or accessed through this website. Decentral Media, Inc. is not an investment advisor. We do not give personalized investment advice or other financial advice. The information on this website is subject to change without notice. Some or all of the information on this website may become outdated, or it may be or become incomplete or inaccurate. We may, but are not obligated to, update any outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate information.

Crypto Briefing may augment articles with AI-generated content created by Crypto Briefing’s own proprietary AI platform. We use AI as a tool to deliver fast, valuable and actionable information without losing the insight – and oversight – of experienced crypto natives. All AI augmented content is carefully reviewed, including for factural accuracy, by our editors and writers, and always draws from multiple primary and secondary sources when available to create our stories and articles.

You should never make an investment decision on an ICO, IEO, or other investment based on the information on this website, and you should never interpret or otherwise rely on any of the information on this website as investment advice. We strongly recommend that you consult a licensed investment advisor or other qualified financial professional if you are seeking investment advice on an ICO, IEO, or other investment. We do not accept compensation in any form for analyzing or reporting on any ICO, IEO, cryptocurrency, currency, tokenized sales, securities, or commodities.

See full terms and conditions.