Binance says the measure is temporary and caused by a transaction getting stuck
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The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has temporarily halted Bitcoin withdrawals “due to a stuck transaction causing a backlog,” CEO Changpeng Zhao said in a tweet on Monday.
Zhao tried to reassure users that their funds were safe and the problem was only impacting the Bitcoin network. The Binance team is currently fixing the backlog, the exchange said in an official announcement.
The halt to Binance withdrawals came mere hours after crypto lender Celsius announced a suspension of withdrawals late on Sunday and amid a huge drop in crypto prices during Monday trading.
Bitcoin had lost over 13% in price as of 14:00 GMT on Monday, sliding to $23,685 per coin, CoinDesk data shows. Nearly all other major crypto tokens were also trading in the red.
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Bitcoin plunges to 18-month low
The overall market capitalization for cryptocurrencies has plunged by some 12% in the last 24 hours to around $970 billion on Monday morning, according to data from CoinMarketCap. This is the first time this figure has fallen below $1 trillion since early 2021.
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