The logo of cryptocurrency exchange Binance displayed on a smartphone with the word “cancelled” on a computer screen in the background.
Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images
Binance said Monday that it is temporarily pausing bitcoin withdrawals “due to a stuck transaction causing a backlog.”
At first, Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao said in a tweet that the issue would be fixed within 30 minutes. But he later amended that to say, “Likely this is going to take a bit longer to fix than my initial estimate.” He added that, “[t]his is only impacting the Bitcoin network,” and that holders “can still withdraw Bitcoin on other networks like BEP-20.”
“Funds are SAFU,” he added. The acronym stands for “secure asset fund for users,” which is a fund the company established in 2018 to help safeguard users.
The news comes as bitcoin tumbled more than 10% on Monday, breaking below $24,000 and sinking to the lowest level since December 2020.
The largest cryptocurrency has been hit by macroeconomic concerns, including rampant inflation.
Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange. The company handles spot trading volumes of more than $14 billion and nearly $50 billion in derivatives volume in a single day, according to data from CoinGecko.
– CNBC’s Ryan Browne contributed reporting.
Correction: Binance said it is temporarily pausing bitcoin withdrawals “due to a stuck transaction causing a backlog.” The headline on an earlier version misstated the quote.
