Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, announced that it has completed the conversion of its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) entirely into Bitcoin, closing out a $1 billion transition from stablecoin reserves into BTC that was first revealed last month.
Binance Shifts Its Insurance Fund Into 15,000 BTC
The global exchange acquired a final tranche of 4,545 BTC, increasing SAFU’s total holdings to 15,000 BTC. At the time of the purchase, Bitcoin was priced at $67,000, valuing the fund at approximately $1.005 billion, the company said in a post on X Thursday.
Binance also disclosed the Bitcoin wallet address tied to the fund and provided the transaction hash corresponding to the final on-chain purchase.
At the time of publication, the apex crypto was trading at approximately $67,500. Binance said it would restore the reserve if market fluctuations cause its value to fall below $800 million.
SAFU, launched by Binance in 2018, serves as an emergency reserve to protect users against potential losses from security incidents or unexpected disruptions at the exchange. The fund was previously backed by a combination of assets, including stablecoins.
“With SAFU Fund now fully in Bitcoin, we reinforce our belief in BTC as the premier long-term reserve asset,” Binance noted.
Binance stated that the transition was finalized within 30 days of its original announcement. In late January, the exchange revealed it would convert $1 billion in dollar-pegged tokens held in the user protection fund into BTC.
An increasing number of companies have moved to incorporate Bitcoin into their balance sheets, reallocating parts of their treasuries from fiat currencies into BTC. The shift signals broader institutional recognition of Bitcoin’s perceived long-term store-of-value potential, particularly against a backdrop of ongoing inflation concerns and subdued returns from traditional assets.
Binance initiated the process on Feb. 2 by moving 1,315 BTC — valued at approximately $100 million at the time — from its hot wallets into SAFU. The transfer marked the beginning of what would later rank among the largest treasury-style reallocations into Bitcoin undertaken by a cryptocurrency exchange.
Crypto Sentiment At Extreme Fear
Binance’s conversion comes against a backdrop of persistently weak market sentiment.
Investor confidence deteriorated further after Bitcoin briefly fell below $60,000 on Feb. 5. By Thursday, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index had dropped to a reading of five — its lowest level on record — reflecting what data from alternative.me characterizes as extreme fear in the market.
Source: https://zycrypto.com/binance-finalizes-conversion-of-1-billion-stablecoin-backed-safu-emergency-fund-into-bitcoin-what-it-means-for-btc/
