Crypto investors leave exchanges at record rate

Crypto investors pulled money at a record rate from exchanges last month (November) as the downfall of FTX and its contagion made them nervous. 

According to data from CryptoCompare, investors pulled 91,557 bitcoin, worth almost $1.5bn based on the November average price of $16,400, from exchanges including Binance, Kraken and Coinbase.

This is the largest outflows in history, according to the company. October also saw significant outflows at about 75,000 which was preceded by months of inflows or only minor outflows.

The report stated it anticipates to see more outflows in coming months. "It is likely that we will see a continuation of this trend as the ‘not your keys, not your coins' narrative takes over crypto markets," it commented.

It is unclear whether the bitcoin from these exchanges has been sold or moved to private wallets.

During the month Bitcoin had its worst monthly performance since June losing 16.3%.

The recent rush to exit exchanges was spurred by the collapse of FTX in November. The firm filed for bankruptcy protection that month.

The knock-on impact has been severe, with documents suggesting the platform may face more than 1m creditors.

While protecting consumers has been at the forefront of discussions, lawyers have warned that there are risks they will not be able to recover their assets because of the lack of regulation in the industry.

According to recent reports, the UK Treasury is finalising plans to regulate the industry, which would include provisions for how to deal with the collapse of companies.