The market share of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance has recovered significantly after plunging in the second half of 2023 due to several factors, including a massive settlement with U.S. regulators two months ago.

According to a tweet from crypto market data provider Kaiko, the market share of the leading trading platform has risen to 49%, up from multi-year lows recorded as the exchange navigated its legal hassles.

Binance’s Market Share Rebounds

2023 was a tough year for Binance. Although the exchange started the year strong with a 55% market share, it witnessed ailing on-chain activities that significantly declined its reserves and trading volumes.

As CryptoPotato reported, events like the end of the Zero-Fee Bitcoin trading promotion and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit in June dragged Binance’s market share below 50%.

The U.S. regulatory crackdown on the exchange peaked in November when the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $4.3 billion settlement with the trading platform over several charges, including a willful floundering of the Bank Secrecy Act. The agreement involved the resignation of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) from the CEO position, as he also pleaded guilty to failing to implement a strong anti-money laundering (AML) program on the exchange.

CZ’s departure from Binance further pulled the exchange’s market share to around 32%; however, a quick recovery brought it back to 48.7%.

Remarkable Resilience

It is worth noting that Binance’s reserves experienced a 20% decline from their all-time high, representing the platform’s biggest plunge in the past five years. The firm’s spot trading volume went below those of rival exchanges Coinbase and OKX for the first time since June 2020, while its bitcoin (BTC) de