Binance working to enable Bitcoin lightning network

Binance is working to enable Bitcoin (BTC) lightning network withdrawals for its users after experiencing issues due to the volume of pending transactions.

In a May 8 Twitter thread, the exchange explained that it had to temporarily pause BTC withdrawals due to the large volume of pending transactions. It continued that there were large volumes of BTC withdrawal transactions from the exchange that were yet to be processed.

According to Binance, the recent surge in BTC gas fees caused this failure. However, it said it would replace pending transactions with higher fees so mining pools could process them.

The exchange eventually reopened BTC withdrawals after about 2 hours, saying that it had increased the transaction fees.

“To prevent a similar recurrence in the future, our fees have been adjusted. We will continue to monitor on-chain activity and adjust accordingly if needed,” it added.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time Binance has paused BTC withdrawals. The exchange had earlier paused withdrawals on May 7 for about one hour. At the time, it cited network congestion issues.

There have also been instances where Binance paused withdrawals and deposits for other digital assets due to technical issues on the exchange. In December 2022, the exchange paused USDC withdrawals because the exchange was conducting a token swap involving the Circle-backed stablecoin.

BTC network fees surge

Bitcoin transaction fees have risen significantly in the last few months and are currently around $10 after rising to as high as $26 a few hours ago. There are also over 424,000 unconfirmed transactions on the network as of press time.

While $10 might seem low, it is relatively high, given that Bitcoin transaction fees were around $1 about six months ago. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said the rise in transaction fees is a sign of a bull market.

Blockchain analytical firm Glassnode reported that the network was “experiencing extremely high demand for blockspace driven by BRC-20 tokens, utilizing text-based inscriptions, and ordinals.”

Glassnode added that the average fee paid per block has risen to 2.9 BTC — nearly as high as past bull peaks.

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