Hyperliquid highlights that everything that happens on the exchange is verifiable on-chain.
Binance acted quickly to compensate affected users.
In a market shaken by massive liquidations that left thousands of traders with million-dollar losses, the main bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency exchanges are unsheathing strategies to regain the trust of users, in the midst of an “advertising war.”
The recent storm exposed vulnerabilities in centralized platforms, while decentralized competitors raise the flag of transparency.
Criticism of the supposedly opaque practices of giants like Binance and OKX is intensifying. In this context, each exchange seeks to differentiate itself, whether with fast compensation, promises of robustness, or innovative models that limit risks.
Hyperliquid, a decentralized exchange (DEX), has taken advantage of the crisis to highlight your model operational. Jeff Yan, co-founder and CEO, stated that all orders, transactions and settlements on their platform are verifiable on-chain. “Anyone can audit the execution and solvency of the system in real time,” he assured.
According to Yan, this transparency marks a fundamental difference with centralized exchanges (CEX), which he says often underreport settlements. For example, Binance “bundles thousands of liquidations into a single record, which could underestimate the true magnitude by up to 100 times during times of high volatility,” he said. Yan urged the industry to prioritize transparency and neutrality as pillars of the financial future.
For his part, the analyst and trader Juan Rodríguez fueled the debate by accusing giants like Binance and OKX of deliberately hiding data.
“They are leaders in volume, but the least transparent,” he noted. Rodríguez warned that This opacity protects platforms from investigations for bad practices and called on users to migrate to more open services.
He also warned about influencers who, benefiting from referral systems, could minimize the failures of these exchanges. “Move your capital to transparent services,” he recommended.
Responses to the crisis
Meanwhile, Binance faced an operational gale on October 10, when an extreme volume of transactions collapsed its systems, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
The exchangeand warned of delays in withdrawals, inconsistencies in balances and access problems to its app and web during critical hours. The company attributed the failures to the overload generated by the market crash.
One of the crypto assets that was most affected by the turbulence was USDe, Ethena’s stablecoin, which lost its parity with the dollar on Binance, where it was traded close to $0.65. Although the fall was temporary, the episode set off alarms in the community, which recalled previous cases of algorithmic stablecoin collapses.
However, Binance acted quickly: in less than 24 hours, it announced compensation to affected users. The company emphasized that it covered all losses, even those prior to a “disengagement” from the market, assuming full responsibility.
On the other hand, Binance-linked BNB Chain announced a $45 million airdrop on October 13. Under the name “Reload Airdrop,” the program will distribute BNB to more than 160,000 addresses that operated memecoins, one of the sectors hardest hit by recent volatility.
This initiative not only seeks to mitigate the impact on its community, but also serves as a key marketing resource for Binance, strengthening its ecosystem and attracting retail traders at a time where trust is under scrutiny.
In contrast, Crypto.com claims to have positioned itself as a bastion of stability. Kris Marszalek, its CEO, assured that its platform withstood traffic spikes and record liquidations without problems.
“We built a robust and resilient platform,” he said. Marszalek went further, urging regulators to investigate the practices of exchanges with the highest liquidations.
He raised incisive questions: Did they paralyze operations? Did they quote correctly? Do they have effective anti-money laundering programs? Do they protect their negotiation teams? With 20 billion dollars in liquidations, The businessman stressed the need to protect consumers and guarantee market integrity.
Alternative models gain ground
In the midst of the controversy, the Kraken exchange took the opportunity to promote its Breakoutprop model. This program allows traders operate with platform funds after passing a test, retaining profits but not losses.
“What would happen if your losses were limited, but your profits were not?” says Kraken’s message, which seeks to attract users disenchanted with the risks of other exchanges.
Breakoutprop offers an avenue for experienced traders to trade with institutional capital, Kraken assuming the financial risk in case of losses.
Confidence and market evolution
Daniel Arráez, an economist specialized in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, told CriptoNoticias that Confidence in cryptocurrency markets does not depend on a single factor. He highlighted the importance of trading volume, the speed of the execution engine (matching engine), matching orders between buyers and sellers, and reducing slippage (slippage) according to price movements.
If any of this fails, it is very likely that they will look to invest money elsewhere. Also, when there is no same price on a single platform, the possibility of doing arbitrage or managing volumes on different exchanges will take on a more fundamental role.
Daniel Arráez, economist specialized in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
Aráez analyzed that recovery after Friday’s drop does not reflect just leverage or manipulation. «The bottom line of this news is not that it was a problem of leverage or market manipulation. The way in which Binance concentrates the largest volume of cryptocurrency operations, beyond the bitcoin ETFs that are concentrated in Coinbase, makes us notice that there are elements that constantly seek to attract new investor profiles,” he explains.
In turn, he differentiated two types of investors: traditional ones, who seek protection and stable returns, and new ones, who see cryptocurrencies as a “casino” with high risk and potential for profit. «Exchanges are going to continue being companies: they are going to win and they are not going to lose. “What they are going to offer are incentives to attract and manage different types of clients and users.”
The recent liquidation crisis puts the spotlight on the direction of cryptocurrency exchanges. Users, now more aware of platforms’ vulnerabilities and practices, can demand greater transparency and accountability. The sector faces a unique opportunity to redefine its standards, prioritizing systems that balance innovation, security and trust.