Binance, on August 17, 2022, announced that it has temporarily closed crypto withdrawals for many networks due to a problem with a third-party tech partner. The minor glitch has since been resolved.
Funds Remain SAFU
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, announced its move to temporarily close withdrawals for some networks. According to the tweet, this decision was a result of an issue the exchange had with a third-party technology provider. The exchange also assured its users that the team responded and resolved the issue within an hour, informing them that the funds were SAFU.
Secure Asset Funds for Users (SAFU) is a monetary fund created by the Binance exchange. The fund holds 10% of all trading fees to reimburse the exchange’s users in the event of a hack. By mentioning that funds are in SAFU, Binance aimed to put to rest the minds of its users, letting them know that the safety of the funds is not compromised.
Established in July 2018, the fund was valued at $1 billion USD as of January 29, 2022. Comprising BNB, BUSD, and BTC wallets, the fund’s value fluctuates based on the market’s volatility.
This closure is coming at a time when Binance is yet to fully recover from its Curve Finance encounter, where the exchange recovered and froze over $450,000 in funds, which amounted to over 80% of the assets previously stolen.
These encounters might tell of Binance’s share of the hard times the crypto community seems to be facing in the form of insecurity. However, when it comes to suffering from the winter experience, Binance has managed to prove itself sturdy.
Binance Remains Strong
The past quarters have been anything but sunny in the cryptocurrency world. The ongoing crypto winter brought about by the sudden collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May, coupled with the gloomy financial outlook globally, has led different crypto firms to various ends. Some have laid off workers, while some others have declared bankruptcy. In all these, Binance has proven that it is a leader in the space.
The exchange has grown in leaps and bounds; getting its coins supported by other service providers, supporting different coins and protocols, releasing tokens, and playing significant roles in expanding crypto adoption around the world, are some of the activities that the Changpeng Zhao-founded exchange has participated in, in recent times.
Earlier in June, crypto.news reported Binance’s partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo to create and sell the CR7 NFT collection. This news told a part of the story of the evident digital revolution in sports and showed Binance’s strong drive even at a time when many other crypto companies were struggling to stay afloat.
Days ago, the exchange received in-principle approval from Kazakhstan’s Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), proving its expansion efforts, even as it stayed out of money laundering trouble by distancing itself from the Indian digital asset exchange, WazirX.
Just like the bitcoin (BTC) withdrawal halt in June, which was caused by network congestion, this interruption of customers’ withdrawals and the cause has once again sparked conversations around the safety and dependability of digital properties on exchanges, with some opining that hard wallets are the way to go.
Source: https://crypto.news/binance-reopens-fund-withdrawals-after-temporary-closure-%EF%BF%BC/