Abnormal token price movements on Binance not hack-related, confirms CZ

Published at: Dec. 11, 2022

Crypto exchange Binance began investigating suspicious behavior on its platform after noticing abnormal price movements for certain trading pairs involving Sun Token (SUN), Ardor (ARDR), Osmosis (OSMO), FUNToken (FUN) and Golem (GLM) tokens. Nearly 40 minutes into the investigation, Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao revealed that the price movements “appears to be just market behavior.”

On Dec. 11 at 3:10 am ET, Binance issued a notice about abnormal price movements for some trading pairs. The exchange began an investigation to narrow down suspicious accounts responsible for the issue. To investors’ relief, Binance’s investigation did not point to the possibility of compromised accounts or stolen API keys.

Based on our investigations so far, this appears to be just market behavior. One guy deposited funds and started buying. (Hackers don’t deposit). Other guys followed. Can’t see linkage between the accounts. 1/3 https://t.co/QlB1VnlHVs

— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) December 11, 2022

In CZ’s words:

“One guy deposited funds and started buying. (Hackers don’t deposit). Other guys followed. Can’t see linkage between the accounts.”

However, the exchange took a proactive measure against possible manipulation. It temporarily blocked withdrawals for some accounts that made profits during the volatility, which according to CZ, sprouted complaints across social media.

CZ further addressed the concerns related to centralization and company intervention during similar occasions as he stated, “There is a balance to how much we should intervene.”

When asked about the possibility of using stolen or compromised accounts for carrying out manipulative trades, CZ clarified that Binance actively monitors such accounts, adding that:

“If you leave your account details with a 3rd party platform that gets hacked, and the hacker is cautious in using it, it can be hard to detect on our side. But we try.”

Binance has confirmed to keep investors updated as soon as ongoing investigations reveal new information about the ongoing price movements.

The ill-intent of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried set back the crypto industry by a few years, said CZ during Indonesia Fintech Summit 2022.

“I think basically we've been set back a few years now. Regulators rightfully will scrutinize this industry much, much harder, which is probably a good thing, to be honest,” CZ added, emphasizing that the episode was devastating for the industry.