Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) stated exchanges are statistically safer than self-custody, citing new Bitcoin (BTC) loss information from analyst Willy Woo.
Woo shared figures from River’s 2025 trade report on Monday, exhibiting 1.57 million BTC misplaced by self-custody in contrast with 1.51 million BTC misplaced on exchanges. The hole sits beneath 60,000 BTC.
Why CZ Says Trade Hacks Look Worse Than They Are
Zhao argued the comparability misses how either side reviews losses. Trade hacks generate main headlines. Therefore, reporters and researchers monitor them carefully. Self-custody losses, nonetheless, hardly ever attain the identical visibility.
Misplaced non-public keys, forgotten passwords, and destroyed {hardware} wallets typically go unreported. Because of this, Zhao recommended the self-custody determine probably understates the true scale of losses.
He additionally famous that some exchange-side losses come from platforms that not function. BitMEX, as an illustration, introduced its shutdown in July, closing an 11-year run. In the meantime, trade hack monitoring exhibits incidents climbed roughly 50% within the first half of 2026, whilst whole stolen sums fell.
Binance’s SAFU Fund and the Self-Custody Comparability
Zhao pointed to Binance’s compensation follow as a key a part of his argument. The alternate, he stated, has persistently lined person losses tied to CEX-side breaches. Binance not too long ago expanded its Safe Asset Fund right into a $1 billion Bitcoin reserve.
Self-custody danger has drawn recent consideration this month. A Coldcard {hardware} pockets vulnerability drained BTC from customers in early August. One sufferer misplaced $1.6 million in minutes regardless of following commonplace safety steps. Zhao weighed in on that incident too, warning that no pockets setup ensures full safety.
Zhao stopped wanting recommending exchanges over non-public wallets. As a substitute, he framed the selection as considered one of danger tolerance and product match relatively than a easy security rating.
Whether or not Woo’s information holds up in opposition to additional scrutiny stays an open query. Self-custody losses are inherently more durable to confirm than alternate breaches. Bitcoin traded close to $60,347 on the time of writing, up roughly 1.2% over 24 hours.
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