Here’s how the 5 biggest centralized crypto exchanges are navigating The Merge

The Merge, where Ethereum will transition from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism to proof of stake, is estimated to take place in the early hours of Thursday morning. 

The Merge will be triggered by reaching the specific Total Difficulty threshold, also called Terminal Total Difficulty (TTD). This is what defines when it will actually happen. Bordel.wtf currently places the time of The Merge at 5 a.m. UTC. However, this is just an estimate and it’s still subject to change. 

Ahead of the upgrade, many leading crypto exchanges will be suspending deposits and withdrawals of Ethereum ERC-20 tokens until The Merge is complete. 

Here we break down how the top five centralized crypto exchanges intend to navigate The Merge.

• Binance, the largest crypto exchange, intends to suspend deposits and withdrawals for Ethereum ERC-20 tokens one hour before The Merge happens, according to a blog post. If a chain split occurs and an Ethereum proof-of-work chain persists, Binance intends to handle the technical requirements necessary to enable forked tokens to be credited on a 1:1 ratio.
• Coinbase plans to briefly suspend new deposits and withdrawals for Ethereum ERC-20 tokens a few hours before The Merge, per a blog post. A timeframe for the pause is yet to be provided.  
• FTX is aiming to support continuous trading during The Merge, according to a blog post. After the upgrade, ether futures and perpetual contracts will track the proof-of-stake Ethereum price.
• Okx plans to alert users when it intends to pause services for The Merge. Withdrawals, deposits and transfers of ERC-20 tokens will be paused but trading services, such as spot and futures trading, will not be paused, per a blog post. After The Merge, Okx will track the proof-of-stake Ethereum price.
• ByBit intends to track the proof-of-stake Ethereum price following The Merge, according to a blog post. Information on any suspensions has not been provided. The post outlines that a forked Ethereum proof-of-work tokens will be supported if cleared by its risk management and security teams. 

On Twitter, Web3 infrastructure development and trading company Jump Crypto provided a handy complete list of what exchanges intend to do. 

For the latest news and updates about The Merge, make sure to check out our live coverage.