Today in Crypto: Binance said it will convert its $1 billion user insurance-like fund into Bitcoin, Kevin Warsh is US President Donald Trump’s pick for Fed chair, and the US Senate Agriculture Committee advanced a crypto market structure bill.
Binance to convert $1 billion SAFU reserves into Bitcoin
Binance is shifting its flagship user protection vehicle, the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), from stablecoin holdings into Bitcoin over the next 30 days, re‑denominating the fund’s reserves into BTC.
In an open letter to the crypto community, the exchange framed the move as an expression of its conviction that Bitcoin (BTC) is the core long‑term asset of the crypto ecosystem rather than just another trading product, and said it will rebalance the fund back up to $1 billion if market volatility drives its value below $800 million.
That decision effectively makes the fund more exposed to Bitcoin price swings, raising questions about whether a sharp BTC drawdown could weaken the buffer precisely when a major security or insolvency event might require rapid payouts.
A spokesperson from Binance told Cointelegraph that the exchange would stand by the industry “through market cycles and uncertainty,” continue investing resources in the broader ecosystem and would consider allocations of “core assets,” such as BNB, in its next review.
The spokesperson added that Binance would “use our treasury reserves” to top up the SAFU fund if it dipped below $800 million.
SAFU, launched in 2018, is funded by a slice of Binance trading fees and is designed as an emergency pot to reimburse users in “extreme” cases such as hacks or critical platform failures.
The spokesperson said that the types of losses covered by SAFU “may include losses sustained by users in the rare event of a platform security or other incident.”
Kevin Warsh confirmed as Trump pick for Fed chair
US President Donald Trump nominated Bitcoin-friendly Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve on Friday.
Reuters reported Thursday that Trump met with Warsh earlier in the day, with one person briefed on the discussion saying Warsh impressed the president.
Warsh’s odds of being nominated as the next Fed chair surged from 30% to 95% on Polymarket, with the former frontrunner, BlackRock executive Rick Rieder, seeing his odds tank to 3.4%.
Warsh is widely seen as a nominee who would push for fiscal restraint, lower inflation, and an exit from quantitative easing. He holds a favorable view of Bitcoin (BTC), saying in July that it is “an important asset that can help inform policymakerswhen they’re doing things right and wrong.”
Senate Ag advances crypto market structure bill
The US Senate Agriculture Committee advanced a sweeping crypto market structure bill Thursday following a brief markup session marked by partisan divisions.
Lawmakers considered three amendments during the hearing, all of which failed along party lines. Democratic members raised concerns around ethics, conflicts of interest and regulatory oversight, including a proposal that would have barred elected officials from owning digital assets, but those efforts did not gain sufficient support.
The committee ultimately voted 12–11 to advance the bill, clearing it for consideration by the full Senate at a later date. Supporters argued the legislation would provide long-sought regulatory clarity for digital asset markets, while critics warned it could weaken investor protections and expand the authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Before reaching the Senate floor, the bill is expected to be reconciled with parallel crypto legislation under consideration in the Senate Banking Committee.
