Binance intends to exchange roughly $1 billion in stablecoins for Bitcoin from its Secure Asset Fund for Users, or SAFU. In an open letter to the cryptocurrency community, the exchange made the announcement, stating that the conversion would happen gradually over the course of the following 30 days.
Binance’s emergency insurance pool, SAFU, is financed by trading fees and is intended to compensate users for losses in dire circumstances. Prior to this, the fund mostly held dollar-pegged stablecoins; in 2024, it switched from Bitcoin and Bitcoin-Nexus to USDC.
How the SAFU Conversion Will Work
After the change is complete, all of SAFU’s backing will come from Bitcoin rather than stablecoins. Binance refers to Bitcoin as the “foundational asset” of the cryptocurrency ecosystem and claims that the move reflects its long-term assessment of the endurance and power of BTC.
The corporation wants to keep SAFU’s worth around $1 billion, even with Bitcoin’s price swings. The release states that Binance will keep an eye on the fund’s market value and replenish it if significant declines in Bitcoin drive it too low.
If the fund falls below $800 million, Binance says it will inject more Bitcoin to bring SAFU back to 1 billion. This rule aims to protect the insurance pool’s buying power, even during deep market downturns.
What This Means for Traders and the Market
For regular users, SAFU’s purpose does not change: it remains a backstop in case of security breaches or other severe incidents. However, if you care about risk, it is important to note that the fund will now move with Bitcoin’s price rather than stay pegged to the dollar.
The gradual conversion could add steady buy pressure to BTC markets over the next month, though Binance aims to limit disruption by spreading out trades. The shift also reverses the 2024 decision to park SAFU fully in USDC, showing Binance’s renewed preference for holding user protection reserves in Bitcoin instead of stablecoins.
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