--- title: "As Bitcoin Crashes, Binance Halts Withdrawals" description: "Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, has had to pause Bitcoin withdrawals as the currency drops precipitously for the second time in 2022. " date: "2022-06-13" modified: "2022-06-13" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/binance-halts-bitcoin-withdrawals" categories: - "Bitcoin" - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "binance" - "bitcoin" - "crypto" - "the blockchain" - "the digest" --- # As Bitcoin Crashes, Binance Halts Withdrawals ![Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, has had to pause Bitcoin withdrawals as the currency drops precipitously for the second time in 2022. ]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Falling Fast The world's largest crypto exchange had to pause Bitcoin withdrawals as the currency drops precipitously for the second time in 2022 — mirroring, of course, runs on banks in which consumers try to withdraw money in the face of institutional insolvency or economical collapse. On Twitter, [Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced Monday morning]() that Bitcoin withdrawals were on a "temporary pause" due to a "stuck transaction causing a backlog." Though Zhao didn't mention it, this news came less after Bitcoin and Ethereum's value once again began plummeting, [erasing $200 billion]() from the crypto market and landing at prices so low that they haven't been seen for years in the volatile world of blockchain. After claiming the issue would be fixed within 30 minutes, the Binance CEO [later exacerbated the drama by]() saying the issue was "going to take a bit longer to fix than my initial estimate." The exchange finally resumed withdrawals [late this morning](), but user confidence may be hard to regain after failing at such a crucial moment. ## Stuck It Up Investors and critics alike were pretty freaked out. "Just so you crypto guys know," [one user tweeted](), "'stuck transaction' isn’t a thing." Another [joked that]() "there's going to be so many repossessed funko pops filling up warehouse in a week's time." ## Run the Bank With the [Celsius crypto exchange also pausing withdrawals]() amid the crash, [many]() [have observed]() that this scenario [looks a lot like a traditional bank run](), in which investors rush to withdrawal their money amid fears that their bank is about to go belly-up à la the Great Depression. "Thanks to modern blockchain technology," [one user joked](), "we can have 1931 bank run panics in the convenience of cyberspace." Jokes aside, this Bitcoin crash — and the way it's affecting exchanges — is bad news. Many are unquestionably going to buy the dip— [but that strategy may end very badly for them](). **READ MORE:** [Binance pauses bitcoin withdrawals due to a ‘stuck transaction’ as crypto sell-off deepens]() \[*CNBC*\] **More on Binance:** *[Huge Crypto Exchange Reveals Emoji That's Clearly a Swastika]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()