Binance CEO Explains The Exchange Wasn't Behind October Crypto Crash

Binance did not cause the October 10, 2025 crypto crash, according to co-CEO Richard Teng. Speaking at CoinDesk's Consensus Hong Kong conference on February 12, he pushed back against months of blame directed at the exchange, arguing that macroeconomic shocks triggered liquidations across every platform, not just Binance. But not everyone is buying it.

The so-called "10/10" event wiped out up to $560 billion from the crypto market in hours. Bitcoin plunged around 15%, falling from roughly $122,000 to $104,000. Across all exchanges, $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated, hitting more than 1.6 million accounts. It was one of the worst single-day events in crypto history, and Binance has been at the center of the blame game ever since.

What Did Teng Actually Say?

Teng's defense centers on one key argument: the crash was a macro event, not a Binance event.

He pointed to the broader financial picture. On the same day, U.S. equity markets shed $1.5 trillion in value with $150 billion in equity liquidations. The triggers were geopolitical. Fresh U.S. tariff threats on China, including talk of 100% import duties, collided with China's retaliatory export controls on rare-earth metals. Global markets went risk-off across the board.

"The U.S. equity market plunged $1.5 trillion in value that day," Teng said. "The crypto market is much smaller. It was about $19 billion. And the liquidation on crypto happened across all the exchanges."

The Timeline Argument

He added that approximately 75% of those crypto liquidations occurred around 9:00 p.m. ET, before isolated issues like stablecoin depegging or asset transfer delays surfaced on Binance. In other words, the damage was already done before any platform-specific problems kicked in.

Teng also highlighted Binance's scale to argue the exchange held up under pressure. The platform processed $34 trillion in trading volume during 2025 and serves 300 million users. He noted there were no abnormal withdrawals during the crash, suggesting users weren't fleeing the platform.

"The data speaks for itself," he said.

Binance's Response to Affected Users

Teng also noted that Binance supported affected users after the event, something he claimed other exchanges did not do. To date, Binance has paid out $328 million in compensation to users impacted by depegging and related issues during the crash.

Does The Data Actually Speak For Itself?

That depends on who you ask. Critics on X and several industry figures have painted a different picture, one where Binance-specific failures turned a bad day into a catastrophic one.

Trader Reports and Price Discrepancies

Reports from traders described frozen APIs, stop-loss orders that never triggered, and severe price discrepancies between exchanges. Some altcoins briefly printed near-zero prices on Binance while holding significantly higher on competing platforms. Bitcoin itself showed gaps of several thousand dollars between venues at the peak of the chaos.

OKX's CEO suggested Binance had promoted high-risk products like USDe as "safe," enabling leverage loops offering 24% to 70% APY that collapsed under volatility. USDe itself depegged to $0.65 on Binance while holding closer to $1 elsewhere.

Oracle Faults and Contagion Claims

One of the more damaging allegations is that Binance's price oracle faults spread to other exchanges through shared API data. Since several platforms weight Binance pricing heavily, faulty data from one source could cascade across the market. ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood attributed the crash to what she described as a Binance software glitch, estimating it triggered roughly $28 billion in forced deleveraging across the system.

Market Maker Breakdown

Raoul Pal, founder of Real Vision, said market maker APIs broke during the sell-off, leaving automated liquidations firing with no buyers on the other side. He believes exchanges, particularly on the Asian side, were forced to absorb billions in positions to prevent a full collapse. Those positions, he argued, have since been unwound gradually, helping explain the prolonged weakness in altcoins through November and December.

Where Does This Leave Things?

Binance did issue apologies after the event. Co-founder Yi He and Teng both promised compensation for affected users and pledged improvements to risk management systems. The $328 million payout is significant, but for many in the community, compensation isn't the same as accountability.

Teng framed the broader outlook in optimistic terms. Despite the crash, institutional capital continues flowing into crypto. "Institutions are still entering the sector, even despite the market," he said. "The smart money is deploying."

That may be true. But the 10/10 event exposed real vulnerabilities in how exchanges handle extreme volatility, particularly around API reliability, oracle pricing, and high-yield products that amplify risk. Whether Binance caused the crash or simply made it worse is still an open question.

Sources:

• CoinDesk Reporting on Richard Teng's remarks at Consensus Hong Kong, February 12, 2026
• Bloomberg Video coverage of Binance pushing back against blame over the October crash
• CoinGecko Comprehensive breakdown of the 10/10 crash, liquidation data, and exchange-specific issues
• TheStreet Crypto Cathie Wood linking the crash to a Binance software glitch, including Binance compensation figures
• Cryptopolitan Additional reporting on Teng's defense and crash details
• Benzinga Raoul Pal's analysis of market maker failures and exchange inventory absorption