Binance Faces Challenges Amid AWS Outage and Token Crash
Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, has faced a series of setbacks this April.Two notable events have raised concerns about its reliability and regulatory compliance.
On April 15, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage hit Binance hard.the AWS failure in the AP-NORTHEAST-1 region affected Japan and Korea. This led Binance to temporarily suspend crypto withdrawals.
just two days earlier, on Apr. 13, the Mantra (OM) token, a fast-emerging crypto asset tied to real-world asset tokenization, experienced a sudden and severe crash. Within an hour, its price plummeted from $6.32 to $0.42, erasing over $5.5 billion in market value.
Binance, one of the main exchanges were OM is heavily traded, was quickly drawn into the spotlight. Allegations surfaced, ranging from forced liquidations to questions about unusual token activity before the crash. In response, Binance denied any direct involvement or misconduct.
These incidents come as Binance continues to face mounting legal and regulatory pressures.The exchange is currently battling an $81.5 billion lawsuit in Nigeria and remains under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
What really happened during the AWS outage
The trouble began early on Apr. 15 at 1:15 a.m. PDT (8:15 a.m. UTC), when AWS experienced a power-related failure in its AP-NORTHEAST-1 region affected japan and Korea. As AWS services went down, Binance, alongside several other leading exchanges and crypto platforms faced technical disruptions. This led Binance to temporarily suspend crypto withdrawals.
Just two days earlier, on Apr. 13, the Mantra (OM) token, a fast-emerging crypto asset tied to real-world asset tokenization, experienced a sudden and severe crash. Within an hour, its price plummeted from $6.32 to $0.42, erasing over $5.5 billion in market value.Binance, along with several other centralized exchanges such as KuCoin, MEXC, and Coinstore, was severely affected. platforms and tools that rely on real-time data, including debank and Rabby Wallet, also began to experience disruptions.
By 8:05 a.m. UTC, Binance posted a notice on X confirming it was facing network issues due to the AWS outage. The exchange noted that while some trades were processed successfully, others were not. Users were advised to retry any failed orders.
At 8:07 a.m.UTC, Binance’s systems did not bounce back promptly. As late as 9:30 a.m. UTC, users continued to report slow performance, failed trades, and missing confirmations.
During the outage, users encountered a range of glitches. Binance’s app displayed red error warnings and greyed-out fields, particularly for withdrawals involving major blockchains such as Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Polygon (POL), and Arbitrum (ARB).
Some users reported being unable to access their funds even after withdrawals resumed. Though, there were no widespread reports of asset losses.
Dr. Max Li,CEO of decentralized AI cloud platform OORT,pointed to the dangers of centralized infrastructure in comments sent to crypto.news.
“AWS’s outage today is a textbook example of the single point of failure risk that comes with centralized cloud infrastructure. It’s a reminder of why demand is growing for
OM Token Crash: Market Manipulation or Liquidity Issues?
the OM token, a key player in the crypto market, faced a dramatic price drop.Many believe this was a planned “pump and dump” scheme. Anon Vee, a crypto analyst, compared the OM crash to the TRB token’s similar fate. He suggested that market makers chose OM, hyped it up, and then sold it off, causing a steep decline.
Leonidas, a crypto commentator, echoed these concerns. He accused Binance of promoting OM to retail investors and then dumping it. He pointed out that Binance’s promotional efforts led to a surge in prices, followed by a rapid sell-off by insiders. The token’s value plummeted from $6 billion to $400 million in just three hours. He believes centralized exchanges like Binance were involved in inflating the token’s value before offloading it. Binance, however, denied these claims. The exchange stated that cross-exchange liquidations were the real cause. Binance had previously promoted OM heavily, which fueled retail interest. However, Binance claimed that forced liquidations, not insider trading, were to blame. The exchange had promoted OM in multiple posts, which attracted retail investors. When the price spiked, insiders allegedly sold their holdings, causing the crash. Binance’s CEO, CZ, denied any wrongdoing, attributing the crash to liquidations across different platforms.
Mantra’s co-founder, john Mullin, disagreed. He blamed the crash on forced closures by other exchanges during a period of low liquidity.The timing—on a Sunday night—exacerbated the situation.Binance also noted that they had reduced leverage limits for OM in October 2024 as a risk control measure.
On-chain data showed that 17 wallets moved a significant amount of OM tokens to Binance and OKX just before the crash.This move,he argued,intensified the downturn. binance’s customer support team stated that cross-exchange liquidations were the main culprit. They had already lowered OM’s leverage limits in October 2024 to manage risks. The exchange argued that their actions were part of broader risk management strategies.
Mantra’s CEO, JP Mullin, defended the company. He said the crash was due to forced closures by other exchanges. The exchange had warned users about OM’s tokenomics in January 2025. Despite this, the timing of the crash raised suspicions. large wallets transferred significant OM tokens to Binance and OKX right before the crash. This timing raised eyebrows, suggesting possible market manipulation. The exchange insisted that their actions were for risk control.
OM’s crash highlighted the crypto market’s vulnerabilities. The incident exposed the crypto market’s vulnerabilities.
Mantra’s CEO,JP Mullin,blamed the crash on forced closures by other exchanges during a period of low liquidity. He stated that the event took place on a sunday night, which made the impact worse. Binance, however, denied these claims and attributed the crash to cross-exchange liquidations.
On-chain data showed that 17 wallets reportedly deposited over 43 million OM tokens,worth around $227 million,to Binance and OKX shortly before the crash. While this does not directly prove market manipulation, the timing raised concerns about deliberate dumping by large holders.
Binance acknowledged that liquidations across platforms intensified the market downturn. The exchange
Binance’s Significant Presence in Nigeria Sparks Regulatory Concerns
Binance, the popular crypto exchange, had over 386,000 active users in Nigeria in 2023. These users traded a massive $21.6 billion, generating $35.4 million in net income.this activity shows a strong economic impact, requiring compliance with local financial rules.
However, Binance claims Nigeria isn’t a key market and disputes the reported figures. The company stopped naira transactions in March 2024, denying any role in currency issues. No executives are expected in court, but former manager Nadeem Anjarwalla, who fled in 2024, faces a trial in absentia.If convicted, Binance could face hefty fines, and Anjarwalla might go to jail. Binance argues the case should be dismissed due to a spelling error in court documents, but this hasn’t stopped the proceedings.
Meanwhile, Binance faces ongoing U.S. regulatory challenges. In June 2023, the SEC filed 13 charges, including operating unregistered exchanges. The case was paused in February 2025 for review by a crypto task force. The company also settled a $4.3 billion case with U.S. authorities in 2023 for anti-money laundering violations.
These legal battles highlight more than just isolated issues. The
