Binance cites 'large backlog' for temporary withdrawal suspensions

Exchanges • November 1, 2021, 12:19PM EDT
UPDATED: November 1, 2021, 1:03PM EDT
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On November 1, crypto exchange Binance temporarily took all withdraws offline, citing "a large backlog." The exchange resumed withdrawals a few minutes later and then took them offline again an hour later for a period of time.

As of 10:00 AM EST, withdrawals were back online, according to the exchange.

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Binance's Reddit page saw a surge in initial reports of withdrawal and internal transfer issues around 7:00 AM EST. 

The timing of this backlog didn't appear to line up with any particular market volatility, which is often the cause of crypto exchanges going down under heightened activity. According to CoinMarketCap, Binance hadn't seen a particular surge in volume on Monday. 

A representative for Binance told The Block that it had been a technical error in the exchange's database: "Today's temporary pause on withdrawing funds was due to a database system issue that impacted our withdrawal service. The team was able to fix the failure and verify that all data and dependencies were working normally before we restarted withdrawals. At no times were users funds at risk. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

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Kollen Post is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things policy and geopolitics from Washington, DC. That includes legislation and regulation, securities law and money laundering, cyber warfare, corruption, CBDCs, and blockchain’s role in the developing world. He speaks Russian and Arabic. You can send him leads at [email protected].

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