At a time when digital asset prices are under heavy pressure, Binance has opted to deepen its exposure to bitcoin (BTC) rather than reduce it.
The world’s largest crypto exchange announced on Friday that it will convert $1 billion worth of stablecoin reserves held in its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) entirely into bitcoin within the next month.
The notable development positions BTC as the sole backing asset for Binance’s user protection fund and reinforces the exchange’s belief in bitcoin’s long-term value.
The announcement stands out because it comes as bitcoin trades near two-month lows, showcasing a market environment dominated by fear, liquidations, and declining risk appetite.
Binance Redefines How SAFU Is Backed
SAFU was launched in 2018 as an emergency reserve designed to cover potential losses arising from hacks, exploits, or internal system failures.
Historically, the fund has been composed mainly of stablecoins to minimize volatility. Binance is now departing from that approach by anchoring SAFU to bitcoin instead.
According to Binance, the conversion will occur gradually over 30 days. The exchange also committed to actively managing the fund’s value through audits and periodic rebalancing.
If bitcoin price swings push SAFU’s market value below $800 million, Binance says it will inject additional assets to restore the balance to $1 billion. This structure aims to preserve the fund’s purchasing power even during prolonged drawdowns.
“If the fund’s market value falls below $800 million due to BTC price fluctuations, Binance will rebalance the fund to restore its value to $1 billion,” the exchange wrote.
Read also: Binance Lists Ripple USD (RLUSD), Boosting Stablecoin Adoption
Bitcoin Slumps as Risk Assets Face Selling Pressure
The timing of Binance’s decision is notable given that BTC has dropped about 7% in the past 24 hours at press time, trading below $82,000 and printing its weakest price since November 2025. The decline mirrors a broader pullback across high-risk assets and precious metals.
Over $1.7 billion in crypto positions have been liquidated over the past week per Coinglass liquidation data, with long positions accounting for the vast majority of losses. As prices fell, forced liquidations added further selling pressure, deepening the decline.
Notably, altcoins followed bitcoin lower, with ether (ETH) plunging over 8% near $2,700. Also, XRP has slipped close to 8%, and Solana (SOL) is trading around $113 at the time of writing after a similar drop.
Nonetheless, investors have been shifting capital toward perceived safe havens such as gold and silver. Meanwhile, geopolitical developments, including renewed United States tariff discussions, have increased uncertainty around global trade.
Equity markets have also struggled, reinforcing a risk-off environment that typically weighs on cryptocurrencies. Amid the bearish market structure, Binance founder believes that Bitcoin could hit $1 million this cycle, projecting the crypto market cap to reach $5 trillion.
