Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng has defended the alternate towards claims that it was answerable for the October 10, 2025, “10/10” crypto crash, which noticed roughly $19 billion in liquidations.
Talking at CoinDesk’s Consensus Hong Kong convention on February 12, 2026, Teng argued the sell-off was pushed by different elements apart from any Binance-specific failures.
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Richard Teng Offers Binance’s Facet of the Story on October 10 Crash
The Binance co-CEO cited macroeconomic and geopolitical shocks between the US and China. Particularly, he cited:
- Recent US tariff threats, together with potential 100% duties on Chinese language imports, and
- China’s imposition of rare-earth export controls.
The mix, he stated, flipped international threat sentiment, triggering mass liquidations throughout all exchanges, centralized and decentralized alike.
“The US equity market plunged $1.5 trillion in value that day,” Teng stated. “The US equity market alone saw $150 billion of liquidation. The crypto market is much smaller. It was about $19 billion. And the liquidation on crypto happened across all the exchanges.”
Teng acknowledged minor platform points throughout the occasion, together with a stablecoin depegging (USDe) and non permanent slowness in asset transfers.
Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng stated the roughly $19B crypto liquidations on Oct. 10 have been pushed by US China macro shocks, not Binance.
He famous that each main alternate noticed liquidations throughout the occasion. pic.twitter.com/cdYKaTGfBe
— BeInCrypto (@beincrypto) February 12, 2026
Nonetheless, he confused these have been unrelated to the broader market collapse. He additionally emphasised that Binance supported affected customers, together with by compensating a few of them.
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“…trading data showed no evidence of a mass withdrawal from the platform,” he added.
Final yr, Binance reportedly facilitated $34 trillion in buying and selling quantity and served over 300 million customers.
It’s value noting that the October 10 crash has been a persistent reason behind Binance FUD over the previous a number of months. The alternate has confronted criticism from far and broad, with the heaviest assaults coming from rival alternate OKX and its CEO, Star Xu.
No complexity. No accident.
10/10 was attributable to irresponsible advertising and marketing campaigns by sure firms.
On October 10, tens of billions of {dollars} have been liquidated. As CEO of OKX, we noticed clearly that the crypto market’s microstructure essentially modified after that day.… pic.twitter.com/N1VlY4F7rt
— Star (@star_okx) January 31, 2026
Merchants Reject Teng’s Macro Shock Clarification Amid $19 Billion 10/10 Liquidation
Regardless of Teng’s detailed protection, merchants on social media have responded swiftly and critically. On X (Twitter), customers accused Binance of locking APIs and engineering circumstances that compelled liquidations, solely to deflect duty with the “macro shock” clarification.
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“Blaming macro shocks is the new ‘it was a glitch.’ $19B liquidated and somehow nobody at Binance is responsible lol,” one consumer challenged.
Naysayers go additional, with some customers likening Teng’s claims to colloquial phrases in harsh criticism.
“‘It wasn’t us, it was the macro’ is the crypto exchange version of the dog ate my homework. $19B in liquidations and every platform just points at the guy next to them,” one other stated.
Nonetheless, nearly all of responses revolved round alleged faux API responses and questioned inside coordination at Binance. The overall sentiment is that customers really feel the alternate shouldn’t be absolutely clear.
The backlash illustrates the continued rigidity between centralized exchanges and leveraged merchants throughout high-volatility occasions.
Whereas retail demand has cooled in comparison with earlier years, Teng highlighted that institutional and company participation in crypto stays sturdy.
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“Institutions are still entering the sector,” he stated. “Meaning the smart money is deploying.”
Teng additionally framed the ten/10 occasion as a part of a broader cyclical sample in crypto markets. He argued that regardless of short-term turbulence, the sector’s underlying growth continues, with institutional capital driving long-term confidence.
Nonetheless, the alternate faces a twofold problem:
- It should defend its position throughout unprecedented market stress
- Binance should additionally restore belief with a skeptical buying and selling group.
Whereas the $19 billion liquidation worn out positions throughout the market, the controversy over who or what needs to be held accountable continues to simmer on-line. That is anticipated, given the fragility of confidence in high-leverage crypto buying and selling.
