According to Bitcoin.com's summary of a Bloomberg report, Binance.US is reportedly seeking up to $100 million at a valuation of about $1 billion. The summary attributes the information to a person familiar with the talks. It also says the company's previous valuation was $4.5 billion pre-money, from an April 2022 round, so the reported figure would be roughly 78% lower. The two numbers may not use the same valuation basis, and the terms could still change. According to the same summary, the reported plans include expanding state coverage, pursuing derivatives licensing and lowering fees.

This is one company's reported fundraise. It says little by itself about where traders in general are going. Three structural questions are more useful.

Custody changes who holds the risk

On a custodial centralized exchange, the operator controls deposited customer assets and administers account access and withdrawals. On an on-chain perpetual venue, collateral is often deposited into smart contracts, and connecting a wallet does not by itself establish how that collateral is controlled. Risks depend on custody arrangements, contract permissions, pricing systems and infrastructure, and they vary by venue.

Activity is concentrated in a few venues

In the Castle Labs snapshot as we viewed it on October 16, 2026, the 50 tracked on-chain perp venues had reported open interest of $13.66 billion, up 8.7% over 30 days. The largest venue accounted for $7.79 billion, or about 57%. A separate table covering 25 volume-ranked venues showed $25.48 billion in reported 24-hour volume, including $10.75 billion, or about 42%, at the largest venue. Castle Labs identifies DefiLlama as its open-interest source and venue-reported figures as its volume source.

These selected venue figures do not establish the on-chain share of global perpetual volume. That comparison requires matching product coverage, reporting windows and venue coverage. A PANews report relayed a Castle Labs estimate that on-chain venues accounted for 12.33% of global perpetual volume in September 2026. This is a reported estimate; its venue coverage and denominator have not been independently verified here.

What volume does and does not show

  • Volume is not users. Volume counts turnover. A few active accounts can generate a lot of it, and it does not tell you how many different people trade.
  • Open interest is not volume. Open interest is the value of positions still open at one moment. Volume is the value traded over a period. A venue can have high volume and modest open interest, or the reverse.
  • Wallets are not people. One person can use several wallets, and one wallet can be run by a bot or a fund.
  • A partial month needs a matching comparison. As of October 17, 2026, October is incomplete. Compare month-to-date figures with equivalent periods in earlier months, or use completed months consistently.
  • Volume can be affected by many things. Volatility, incentives and market coverage can all move it. Volume alone does not show a shift in where traders keep their funds.

Evidence of a lasting shift would require comparable observations over time, with consistent definitions, aligned reporting periods and transparent treatment of changes in venue coverage. A single fundraise or dashboard snapshot is insufficient.

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Figures are as of the dates stated. This is market commentary, not financial advice.