Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance will be undergoing a system upgrade starting at 11PM EST.
According to the post published on the official exchange website, Binance will be suspending trades, deposits and withdrawals during the planned maintenance, which will take approximately 6-8 hours. In the update Binance states that deposits not finished by the start of the update will be forced to wait until the process is over,
Binance will suspend deposits, withdrawals, and trading during this period. Deposits that are not completed before the start of the upgrade will be processed after the upgrade is complete. Please allow some time for deposits to be reflected in your account following the system upgrade.
Once the upgrade is complete, we will make a further announcement and provide users with a 30 minute window to cancel orders, process deposits, withdrawals, and use all other account related functions before trading resumes.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused, and thank you for your patience.
Changpeng Zhao, the affable and popular CEO for the cryptocurrency exchange also took to Twitter to announce the update. In addition to providing the start time, he also claimed that the company would continue with its regular process of updating users every 2 hours on the progress of the upgrade,
Final stretch, 11PM Tuesday, EST + a few hours. Thank you for patience, cooperation and support so far! ???
During trading halt, we will update no less than every 2 hours, as per usual.
Binance has been at the center of both trader and investor concern following a hack that stole over 7,000 BTC from the exchange’s hot wallet, worth $54 million following the most recent price rally. While Binance reports that their SAFU Fund will cover the expenses lost, investors were wary of the high-profile nature of the hack. After months of outpacing the market, the price of Binance Coin fell sharply before recouping losses over the weekend’s bullish run.
The upgrades comes on the heels of a cooling in the general crypto markets, with the price of BTC slipping to $7800 after scorching to new levels over the weekend. The entire market capitalization of cryptocurrency gained $20 billion in 24 hours, with analysts adjusting their price outlook for BTC in a substantial turnaround for the market.
However, Binance is still recovering from the wake of the hack, with tonight’s upgrade likely in response. Changpeng Zhao and his team have been careful to update traders without compromising any unnecessary information, which the CEO claimed the hackers could use to further evade the exchange’s security.
Some community members are skeptical of the update, and fear it may be related to further losses or breaches in security other than what Binance has publicly released. While the exchange has been fairly transparent in their handling of the theft, initial reports were startling in the extent of user data that was potentially uncovered during the security breach. However, others have voiced their approval of CZ and his team, claiming that the open communication with traders has been a welcome change compared to how other exchange’s have operated in the wake of a hack.
