Crypto exchange Binance is working on integrating Bitcoin Lightning network into its platform, the firm stated in a tweet on Monday. Binance noted that the addition would help in cases where the exchange found itself on Sunday, as it halted withdrawals twice in under 24 hours.
The exchange halted Bitcoin withdrawals on Sunday due to a large volume of pending transactions, which it reopened a few hours later. Binance temporarily closed Bitcoin withdrawals again in the early hours of Monday, giving the same reason for its initial pause.
Binance Saw Historical Bitcoin Withdrawal
On-chain data revealed that Binance experienced the highest bitcoin withdrawal the exchange has ever seen, with over 160,000 BTC valued at $4.6 billion withdrawn already.
The withdrawal spiked an increase in transaction fees, which have reached their highest point in two years. Data revealed that the current transaction fee is $19.21, showing an over 789% spike from last year’s price.
In a tweet, Binance clarified that the FUD is already causing speculation about a possible fund shortage on the exchange, resulting in the withdrawal halt. The crypto firm stated that the outflow resulted from customers moving funds from their cold wallets to their hot wallets due to Bitcoin address adjustments.
Over 400 Txns Sitting on Blockchain’s Mempool
Contrary to Binance’s claim about the cause of the transaction clog, new data from Glassnode has shown that increased Bitcoin demand was the actual cause of the increased BTC activity. The on-chain metrics analyzers noted that increased demand from blockspace, driven by BRC-20 tokens, was a major cause of the transaction spike.
As of press time, over 400,000 unconfirmed transactions sit in the blockchain’s mempool, the highest in the network’s 14-year history. Scenarios like these create Bitcoin block space competition and benefit miners the most.
The average fee paid to miners per block has increased to 2.905 BTC, almost surpassing its peak during the bull run. Some blocks have seen a total transaction fee of 5.87 BTC paid, as the mempool is full and purging transactions are approaching the 50 sat/vbyte rate band.
