Rival crypto exchanges, including Bybit and Bitget, saw a surge in deposit activity following Binance’s Oct. 29 hack.
The increase coincided with Binance’s nearly three-day withdrawal suspension after hackers stole approximately $6.3 billion from the world’s largest crypto exchange, disrupting customers’ ability to move funds to competing platforms.
According to blockchain analytics firm Bitquery, the number of addresses depositing funds into Bybit’s Ethereum wallets jumped 142% to 31,539 between Oct. 29 and Nov. 1, compared with 13,038 during the equivalent period a week earlier.
The exchange received approximately $239 million in Ethereum stablecoin deposits, up from $95 million, while its TRON depositing addresses increased 71% to 68,192. The median Ethereum deposit also fell to roughly one-third of its previous level, suggesting more activity from smaller wallets.
Bitget saw a similar surge on TRON, with depositing addresses up 130% to 10,274. Its USDT inflows increased to $87 million from $66 million during the comparable period.
OKX also attracted substantially more funds, recording $432 million in Ethereum stablecoin deposits, nearly three times the previous week’s $155 million. Its TRON inflows climbed to $528 million from $357 million, although the number of depositing addresses on that network remained relatively unchanged.
Coinbase, meanwhile, recorded a more modest 17% increase in Ethereum depositing addresses to 12,327. That was only 2% above its level two weeks earlier, a variation Bitquery considered within its normal range.
The divergence suggests that offshore exchanges competing more directly with Binance experienced stronger activity during the disruption.
However, the data cannot establish whether the additional deposits came from departing Binance customers, or whether heightened market volatility also contributed to the increase.
Binance withdrawal freeze creates opening for rivals
The surge occurred as Binance’s withdrawal operations nearly ground to a halt following the record-breaking security breach.
Bitquery found that outgoing transactions across 206 labeled Binance wallets on five blockchains collapsed 99.8% during the interruption, falling from approximately 1.19 million in a comparable 54-hour period to just 2,248.
The exchange’s customer payouts on several major blockchains stopped within minutes of the attack beginning, cutting off a key source of liquidity for traders moving assets between platforms.
During the equivalent period a week earlier, the tracked Binance wallets processed approximately $3.7 billion in stablecoin payouts, illustrating the scale of normal activity interrupted by the suspension.
The restrictions also created an uneven opportunity for competitors. Traders with funds already held elsewhere could deposit them into rival exchanges, while customers dependent on Binance withdrawals had to wait for the platform to restore access.
Binance began reopening withdrawals at 06:00 UTC on Nov. 1, restoring services across 15 networks and assets within six and a half hours.
The reopening triggered substantial outflows. Binance said it processed $4.65 billion in withdrawals and $1.01 billion in deposits during the first nine and a half hours, resulting in net outflows of approximately $3.64 billion, equivalent to 2.1% of its previously reported $171 billion in assets.
The company said withdrawal volumes had begun stabilizing after the initial surge, although additional networks and assets still required security testing.