Binance says it will convert its Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) reserves from stablecoins into bitcoin over the next 30 days, re-denominating the fund into BTC.
What Binance is changing
In an open letter, Binance said the move reflects its view that bitcoin is a core long-term asset rather than simply a trading product.
Binance said it will rebalance SAFU back up to $1 billion if market moves push its value below $800 million.
A Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph the exchange would use its treasury reserves to top up the fund if it dipped under that threshold.
The spokesperson said:
“We will use our treasury reserves to top up the SAFU fund if it dipped below $800 million.”
What SAFU is meant to cover
SAFU was launched in 2018 and is funded by a portion of Binance trading fees.
Binance describes it as an emergency reserve meant to reimburse users in “extreme” cases, including hacks or critical platform failures.
In May 2019, Binance said hackers stole around 7,000 BTC, and the exchange used SAFU to make affected users whole.
From stablecoins to BTC
Binance previously shifted SAFU’s stablecoin component from BUSD to USDC in 2024, following the wind-down of its branded stablecoin.
This latest change removes stablecoins entirely and increases the fund’s exposure to bitcoin price swings.
Size of the conversion
Binance is already a major bitcoin holder, reporting over 648,000 BTC across the exchange.
At current prices, converting $1 billion into BTC would equal more than 12,000 BTC.
Binance said the BTC would be custodied within its licensed clearing house regulated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market.
The exchange also published an onchain address for users to verify the SAFU wallet.
