Binance cold wallet sent $3.9 billion worth of USDT days before guilty plea

Binance and its former CEO have pleaded guilty to federal charges of over $4.3 billion

article-image

Wit Olszewski/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Binance sent $3.9 billion worth of stablecoins from one of its cold wallets to a separate Binance wallet days before the announcement of a settlement on US federal charges amounting to over $4.3 billion. 

On-chain data from TronScan shows that a multi-billion dollar transaction was completed on Nov. 9 from a wallet labeled ‘Binance-Cold 2’ to a wallet labeled ‘Binance 3’.

The ‘Binance 3’ address, created in August 2022, currently holds $3.6 billion worth of assets, with the majority of it being tether (USDT). At the time of writing, it has a lifetime transaction count of only 338.

A majority of the 88.3 billion USDT currently in circulation has been issued on Tron, about 46.8 billion, compared to 40 billion on Ethereum, according to Tether.

‘Binance-Cold 2’ currently has $6.6 billion worth of assets remaining, with a total of 2498 transactions since it was first created in November 2018. 

Binance has previously noted in a blog post that its cold wallets, otherwise known as offline wallets, are responsible for receiving overflow funds and holding the bulk of the company’s funds.

There are currently 12 total publicly tagged Binance wallets. Six of them are ‘hot wallets,’ and three of them are ‘cold wallets,’ the remaining three wallets are simply named ‘Binance 1,’ ‘Binance 2,’ and ‘Binance 3.’ 

In connection with the Binance settlement, its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to various federal charges, has stepped down from his CEO position. 

Binance has agreed to pay a criminal fine of $1.8 billion, and an additional $2.5 billion will be forfeited. Approximately $1.6 billion of these funds will be credited towards resolutions Binance made with CFTC, FinCEN, and the Treasury’s OFAC.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template (1).jpg

Research

As AI supercharges surveillance, privacy becomes a prerequisite and the winning stack will combine confidentiality with selective disclosure. Zcash’s Tachyon, composable standards on Ethereum/Solana, and compliance-aware pools aim to make private rails the new norm.

article-image

Bain Capital Crypto and Haun Ventures co-led the round as demand grows for Bitcoin-denominated savings and annuities

by Blockworks /
article-image

NYSE owner’s investment values the prediction market at $8–9 billion, signaling Wall Street’s entry into event-based trading

by Blockworks /
article-image

Pineapple begins deploying its $100 million Injective Digital Asset Treasury, staking INJ to earn yield and fund onchain mortgage ambitions

by Blockworks /
article-image

Staking levels in the ether funds will depend on protocol unstaking queue times and anticipated redemption activity, firm says

article-image

ETF inflows, miner strength, and tightening supply drive Bitcoin past its prior peak amid renewed demand for scarce assets

by Blockworks /
article-image

The Guidestar team, led by Alex Nezlobin, will join Uniswap Labs to enhance automated market maker design and smart order routing

by Blockworks /