Top crypto exchange Binance suffered multiple Bitcoin (BTC) withdrawal shutdowns on Sunday as new BRC-20 tokens drove a gigantic surge in BTC transaction fees.
Binance first announced on Sunday morning that it had temporarily suspended BTC withdrawals due to a Bitcoin network congestion issue.
Withdrawals resumed about 90 minutes later, but then halted again later that day for a couple of hours.
Changpeng Zhao, the exchange’s chief executive, attributed the temporary halt in withdrawals to the massive fluctuation in Bitcoin network fees.
4. There are some FUD about BTC withdrawal issues. Here is why. Bitcoin network fees are fluctuating, 18x in a month. ?????
(the screenshot is a google translate version) pic.twitter.com/iYcEx22xMJ
— CZ ? Binance (@cz_binance) May 8, 2023
Bitcoin network fees have skyrocketed due to a surge in demand for BRC-20 tokens.
Created by the pseudonymous on-chain analyst Domo, the new experimental token standard built for Bitcoin use ordinals, or inscriptions built into Satoshis, to deploy, mint and transfer tokens.
While loosely modeled after Ethereum’s (ETH) ERC-20 tokens, the BRC-20s are substantially distinct due to the different architecture of Bitcoin’s blockchain.
Zhao says the Binance withdrawal problems are “bull market issues.”
“Gas prices fluctuate and go up, transactions get stuck, fees go up, people complain. Bull market issues. Look on the bright side though, still faster and cheaper than fiat.”
Bitcoin is trading at $27,479 at time of writing. The top-ranked crypto asset by market cap is down nearly 5% in the past 24 hours.
Don’t Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get crypto email alerts delivered directly to your inbox
Check Price Action
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Telegram
Surf The Daily Hodl Mix
Generated Image: Midjourney
Shutterstock/Chuenmanuse
