Binance users increased their Bitcoin deposits by nearly $537 million in September 2026 while reducing their Ethereum holdings by approximately $499 million, according to the exchange's latest proof of reserves snapshot.
Shift in Customer Balances Across Major Assets
During September, Bitcoin stood out as the only major asset on Binance to record positive deposit growth. Customer BTC balances climbed 0.91% to reach 688,573 BTC. In contrast, Ethereum holdings dropped by 4.61%.
Other key digital assets hosted on the platform also experienced modest contractions in customer balances. User holdings of Tether's USDT stablecoin slipped 0.87%, while balances of BNB, Binance's native exchange token, decreased 0.77%. Binance introduced these regular proof of reserves updates following the collapse of FTX in 2022 to verify user deposit backing.
Divergent Social Sentiment and Institutional Demand
While Binance reserve metrics measure net exchange balances rather than individual trade transfers, sentiment indicators and spot ETF metrics provide context for the shift. Bitcoin has rebounded nearly 47% from its July low, aligning with a broader Bitcoin 47% rebound pattern.
Conversely, social sentiment surrounding ETH turned sharply negative heading into October. Data from analytics firm Santiment showed bullish comments for ETH dropped to 0.89 per bearish comment across platforms including X, Telegram, and Reddit—its lowest ratio since June 7. XRP recorded a sentiment ratio of 0.67 over the same timeframe.
Despite retail balance declines on Binance, institutional buyers continued accumulating both assets through regulated vehicles:
- US Spot Bitcoin ETFs drew approximately $3.08 billion in net inflows over nine consecutive trading sessions, according to SoSoValue data.
- US Spot Ethereum ETFs pulled in $850.8 million over seven straight positive sessions in late September, despite prior volatility in Ethereum spot ETF outflows.
Reserve Coverage and Asset Cushions
Binance's proof of reserves data indicates the exchange maintains over 100% backing across all eight listed assets, though collateral buffers vary by token:
- Bitcoin: Binance holds 691,004 BTC against 688,573 BTC in customer liabilities, leaving a 0.35% surplus of 2,431 BTC (worth roughly $208 million).
- Ethereum: Balances are matched almost coin-for-coin, with the exchange holding a excess cushion of roughly 3 spare ETH.
- Tether (USDT): Features the exchange's largest reserve buffer, backed by $1.24 billion in surplus USDT above user deposits.
Why It Matters
The diverging balance trends on Binance illustrate how exchange users shifted preference toward Bitcoin during late September price moves. While institutional buyers accumulated both BTC and ETH through spot ETFs, retail deposit activity on centralized exchanges showed clear weakness in Ethereum positioning. Upcoming monthly reserve releases will clarify whether this shift represents temporary profit-taking or a persistent trend toward Bitcoin dominance.
