Benson: The core issue of the 10/11 flash crash is not with USDe, but Binance experienced an abnormal spread at the time

**Jan. 31 — Former FTX community partner Benson Sun said Binance bears responsibility for the Oct. 11 flash crash, but the core issue isn’t tied to USDe—timeline gaps prove it wasn’t the trigger.** Market lows hit at 5:20 p.m., while USDe bottomed at $0.65 at 5:54 p.m.—30 minutes after the market began rebounding. This means USDe’s extreme depegging was a secondary event, not the crash’s cause. Analyzing six years of extreme market history, Sun noted Binance’s price gaps with other exchanges have never exceeded 5% during past crises. On Oct. 11, however, over half of traded coins had Binance as their lowest-priced exchange, with many deviations topping 50% (even 100%)—a scale never seen in prior black swan events. Additionally, the same coin’s USDT trading pairs on Binance were significantly cheaper than its USD pairs that day, leading Sun to conclude Binance’s system likely malfunctioned. If the root cause were elsewhere, Binance—with top-tier liquidity—wouldn’t have posted the lowest prices. Liquidity providers withdrawing capital wasn’t the main driver, Sun added. While OKX Star’s public commentary is positive, he argued their focus may be misplaced.