24th March 2023 – (New York) Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has suspended deposits and withdrawals on its spot trading platform due to issues affecting its matching engine. CEO Changpeng Zhao confirmed the news via a tweet on Friday, stating that the pause was a standard procedure after the matching engine encountered a bug on a trailing stop order.
According to Zhao’s tweet, initial analysis indicates that the technical issue has affected the exchange’s matching engine, causing the suspension of deposits and withdrawals. However, the CEO did not provide any details on the extent of the bug or the timeline for a possible fix.
Binance’s spot trading platform is a critical component of its exchange, allowing users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies in real-time. As such, the suspension of deposits and withdrawals on this platform is likely to impact the exchange’s daily trading volume and revenue.
This is not the first time that Binance has suspended deposits and withdrawals. Last week, the exchange announced that it would be halting sterling deposits and withdrawals, a month after ceasing dollar transfers. The exchange did not provide any reasons for these suspensions, leading to speculation that they may be related to regulatory issues.
Binance has been in the news lately for the wrong reasons. In the past few weeks, the exchange has faced multiple regulatory challenges, with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) investigating it for suspected money laundering and sanctions violations.
Reuters reported that the DOJ is probing whether Binance was involved in illicit activities, including tax evasion and money laundering. The investigation is reportedly in its early stages, and no charges have been filed against the exchange.
