Binance co-CEO Richard Teng addressed the historic crypto liquidation event of October 11, 2025, for the first time in public at Consensus Hong Kong 2026. He stressed that the roughly $19 billion crash was not triggered by Binance alone, but a market-wide chain reaction following China's rare-earth export controls and the US imposition of 100% tariffs on Chinese goods.
According to Teng, about 75% of the liquidations occurred around 9 PM ET on that day. Two unrelated technical glitches accompanied the chaos: the stablecoin USDe briefly depegged to $0.65 on Binance, and some asset transfers experienced delays. He emphasized that every trading platform — centralized and decentralized — saw massive liquidations, making Binance just one of many scapegoats.
US stocks lost $1.5 trillion; crypto liquidation was a fraction
Teng placed the event in perspective: the US stock market lost $1.5 trillion in market cap that day, with $150 billion in liquidations alone. The crypto market's $19 billion liquidation, while historic, was relatively small. Over 1.6 million traders were liquidated in 24 hours as the S&P 500 plunged and leveraged crypto positions imploded.
Retail retreats, institutions step in
On current conditions, Teng acknowledged that uncertainty over interest rates and lingering geopolitical tensions continue to pressure risk assets like crypto. However, he noted a clear divergence: retail demand has softened over the past year, but institutional and corporate deployment remains strong. Even in a tough macro environment, institutions keep entering the space. Teng interpreted this as smart money moving in.
The same day, Binance converted $1 billion of its SAFU fund into Bitcoin, signaling a long-term bet. Despite dark macro clouds, sustained institutional inflows offer a counter-narrative to retail pessimism.