Binance users added Ether (ETH) at more than twice the rate of Bitcoin (BTC) in May, according to the exchange’s latest proof-of-reserves snapshot; a tilt toward the second-largest crypto asset even as its price languished near multi-year lows.
Binance released its 43rd proof-of-reserves report using a June 1 snapshot. User ETH balances rose 10.17% from the May 1 reading, climbing 382,619 ETH to about 4.14 million. Bitcoin balances rose 4.26% over the same period, an increase of 25,838 BTC to roughly 630,000. User holdings of Tether’s USDT moved the other way, falling 1.33%, or about 460 million tokens, to around 34.3 billion.
The figures come with an important limit. A proof-of-reserves report is a point-in-time snapshot of reported balances, and it does not reveal why those balances changed. Rising ETH holdings could reflect deposits, on-platform purchases, internal transfers, or a mix, the data does not separate them. What it does show is a clear directional shift: more Ether and Bitcoin on the platform, fewer stablecoins, with Ether moving fastest.
Accumulation in a Beaten-Down Market
The Ether build-up is notable because of how depressed the asset has been. ETH has traded around $1,746, below the closely watched $2,000 level and down roughly 58% from its August 2025 record near $4,953, leaving it deep in the red year-to-date. Bitcoin has also softened, hovering near $64,000. In other words, the faster Ether accumulation happened while the asset sat near the bottom of its range — a pattern consistent with users adding exposure into weakness, though the snapshot alone cannot confirm intent.
The drawdown in USDT balances fits the same picture. Stablecoins often serve as dry powder for trading, and a falling USDT balance alongside rising ETH and BTC holdings is consistent with sidelined capital rotating into core assets, one plausible reading among several.
A Split From Institutional Flows
The accumulation also runs against what institutional vehicles were doing. U.S. spot Ether ETFs have logged sustained outflows in recent weeks, including a multi-week redemption streak and hundreds of millions of dollars pulled in May, with the pressure continuing into June.
That leaves a divergence: as ETF investors trimmed Ether exposure, balances on the world’s largest exchange grew. The two cohorts are not identical, exchange users span retail and professional traders, but the contrast underscores that on-platform demand and regulated-fund demand pointed in opposite directions.
There is a further wrinkle. Total Ether held across all exchanges recently fell to record lows near 14.55 million tokens as holders moved coins into self-custody and staking. Binance’s rising user balance bucks that broader decline, suggesting either net inflows toward Binance specifically or concentrated accumulation by its users.
The Catalyst Question
What might explain the tilt toward Ether is open to interpretation. The network’s Glamsterdam upgrade entered its final testing phase in June, a potential draw for users positioning ahead of a protocol milestone. Record-low exchange reserves have also fueled supply-squeeze arguments, in which thin available float can amplify upside if demand returns. None of this is confirmed by the reserve data, which measures balances, not motives.
For now, the report offers a single, hedged signal: Binance users leaned into Ether faster than Bitcoin while trimming stablecoins during a stretch when ETH was both cheap and out of favor with institutions. Whether that conviction marks a turn or simply a snapshot will depend on price reclaiming the levels, starting with $2,000, that it has repeatedly failed to hold.
