Binance USDC Balance Drops $1.8B in Q2 as Bybit Adds 45%

Binance recorded $1.8 billion in net USDC outflows during the second quarter, including $1.4 billion in June, as the exchange approached Europe’s July 1 MiCA deadline without an authorization route.

Its tracked USDC balance fell 19% over the quarter. April and May accounted for about $400 million of the decline before the pace accelerated during June, when Binance failed to secure its Greek MiCA license and began restricting services for users in several European markets.

A Q2 exchange-wallet analysis combined exchange proof-of-reserves disclosures with token-level wallet tracking. Binance’s July 1 reserve snapshot still listed about $7.58 billion in USDC against $6.98 billion in user net balances, leaving the stablecoin fully backed with additional exchange-owned inventory.

The outflows do not establish that Binance lost $1.8 billion in total customer assets or that MiCA caused every transfer. USDC supply contracted 5.5% during the same quarter, equal to about $4.3 billion in net redemptions, while exchange balances can also move into self-custody, other platforms or direct redemptions with Circle.

MiCA Pressure Overlaps With June Drop

Binance’s USDC balance contracted faster than the token’s wider supply during June, placing the exchange at the center of the quarterly decline as its European licensing setback moved from a regulatory problem to a market-access issue.

Unauthorized crypto service providers had to wind down normal EU operations from July 1, preserve client access to assets and manage transfers or account closures.

Licensed competitors moved quickly around the deadline. Coinbase and OKX offered migration bonuses to European users moving funds, although OKX did not capture a corresponding USDC surge. Its tracked balance declined 9.7%, slightly more than the contraction in USDC’s total supply.

Bybit Builds USDC Collateral Base

Bybit was the only major exchange in the comparable group to expand its USDC holdings. Its balance rose 45%, from approximately $450 million to $660 million, increasing in each month of the quarter even as its total reserves declined.

The increase fits Bybit’s product structure more closely than a simple transfer of European funds from Binance. The exchange offers USDC-margined perpetual contracts and options, giving traders a direct use for the stablecoin as collateral and settlement capital.

Bybit also entered July with a licensed European route. The group restricted EEA access to its global platform while directing eligible customers toward Bybit EU GmbH, its Austria-based MiCA-authorized entity.