On Monday, June 13th, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, announced the temporary suspension of Bitcoin withdrawals amidst one of the biggest sell-offs in crypto history.
Binance Suspends Bitcoin Withdrawals
As the ongoing sell-off draws on, Binance announced the temporary suspension of withdrawals via the Bitcoin (BTC) network on June 13th at 11:43:43 (UTC).
As per Binance’s blog post, the suspension of BTC withdrawals from the exchange was implemented due to “stuck on-chain” transactions on the Bitcoin network.
The exchange explained that an earlier batch of transactions had become “stuck” as a result of insufficient transaction fees being submitted. Such transactions were not being processed, resulting in a backlog of Bitcoin (BTC) network withdrawals.
Binance revealed that, while BTC withdrawals on the Bitcoin chain were suspended, other networks (BEP20 and ERC20) remained operational and would continue to work as normal.
Bitcoin Takes a Heavy Hit
The suspension of BTC withdrawals on the world’s largest exchange worsened the ongoing crypto market sell-off for Bitcoin.
The price of bitcoin fell by a heavy 14% to hit an eighteen-month low of $20,950 on Monday, June 13th. Bitcoin has since formed a support above the $22,000 mark, trading at $22.6k at the time of writing.
The 24 hour price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
On the Flipside
- Staying true to their promise, the Binance team has since shipped a solution to the issue, announcing on June 14th at 08:53 (UTC) that all pending transactions had been processed.
Why You Should Care
Just hours after Binance suspended Celsius withdrawals, the panic of the ongoing bear market flared up, intensifying the Bitcoin sell-off.
Read more about the crypto sell-off in:
Crypto Stocks Sell-Off as Bitcoin Sinks
Learn more about Binance’s suspension of Celsius withdrawals below:
Celsius freezes withdrawals, and price crashes after sending $320 million to FTX