Binance finally responds to traders online accusing the exchange of manipulating the market by ‘dumping’ millions of SOL and ETH tokens through Wintermute.
In a recent post shared by the Binance Customer Support account, Binance replied to a trader asking about the on-chain data that showed Binance’s hot wallet “sending” millions of Solana (SOL) and Ethereum (ETH) tokens from its holdings on Feb. 24. The trader accused the exchange of “dumping on everyone” by offloading the tokens.
Responding to the comment, Binance denied accusations that it had “dumped” or “sold” millions of tokens. It claimed that many traders have simply “misunderstood” the on-chain transactions linked to Wintermute.
“As an exchange, we simply help users match trades and we have no visibility into our users’ decisions, including market makers who may move their assets according to their strategies,” explained Binance in a recent post.
The exchange warned traders not to “jump to conclusions about screenshots of transactions” and that they should learn to recognize tactics that inspire fear, uncertainty and doubt or FUD in the market.
In addition, Binance urged its users to learn more about how market makers like Wintermute operate in order to better understand their role in facilitating liquidity.
On Feb. 24, data on Arkham Intelligence showed Binance moving at least 103,570 SOL ($16.32 million at the time) and around 25,000 ETH ($80 million) to market maker Wintermute. Many traders interpreted this as Binance selling or dumping these tokens from their crypto holdings through Wintermute.
Investors and traders saw the event as an indication that Binance was preparing for market volatility, which could influence liquidity and trading volumes for SOL and ETH. Just a day later, the crypto market collapsed as Bitcoin’s price fell below $90,000, leading to liquidations that surpassed $1 billion.
At the time, traders accused Binance, Bybit, and other major centralized exchanges of “manipulating” the market with massive sell-offs and price capping. However, there is no conclusive evidence to support these claims.
In a link shared by Binance alongside its response, the exchange claimed that it employs a market surveillance program on its platform that acts to detect and prevent market manipulation and ensure “a fair trading environment.”
Why did Binance send tokens to Wintermute?
Market makers are firms or entities that specialize in providing liquidity in the crypto market by placing buy and sell orders, thus tightening bid-ask spreads and enabling smoother trading activities. Market makers hold an important role in the crypto market as they absorb large orders, reduce price drops and contribute to market stability.
Exchanges like Binance usually partner with market makers by providing them with tokens as a bonus or incentive for market makers to continuously increase their inventory. By doing so, market makers like Wintermute can enhance liquidity on the platform.
One analyst on X explained that Binance was not selling the tokens to Wintermute, rather Wintermute was withdrawing the tokens from Binance’s holdings in order to maintain market liquidity.
