Binance To Suspend $ETH Deposits & Withdrawals During Ethereum Merge

Crypto exchange Binance has already indicated support for Ethereum Merge, slated to occur next month. In a recent highlight of events, Binance has provided an update on what users should expect when The ETH Merge greets them. This includes suspension of deposits and withdrawals of ERC-20 tokens.

Binance will suspend deposits and withdrawals on September 6th and 15th

In an announcement on Thursday, Binance provided a notice regarding Ethereum Merge. Basically, Binance noted that it would be taking steps to mitigate the risks that the upgrade would bring. The exchange listed a series of actions it would take when The Merge eventually occurs.

Binance mentioned that it would be suspending deposits and withdrawals of ETH and all ERC-20 tokens. This suspension will occur on two occasions, during the Bellatrix consensus layer upgrade and the Paris execution layer upgrade. Both upgrades are likely to respectively occur at 11 AM (UTC), on September 6; and at 12 AM, September 15.

Furthermore, the exchange noted that it would resume normal deposits and withdrawals post-Merge if Ethereum Merge does not result in the creation of any new tokens. However, if separate chains are formed, Binance said it would use the ”ETH” ticker for the PoS chain. Additionally, the exchange will credit users’ accounts with the forked token at a 1:1 ratio. The snapshot taken before the Paris execution layer will determine the distribution.

Will Binance support Ethereum PoW Fork (ETHPoW)

Speaking further, Binance noted that spot trading for ETH and ERC-20 tokens will continue unaffected. Furthermore, while margin trading will continue, the exchange will pause borrowing on September 14th and 16th at midnight (UTC). Additionally, ETH Futures Trading will continue, but Binance will adjust a few parameters to mitigate risk due to high volatility.

All other services with ETH will continue unaffected. Nonetheless, Binance will suspend ETH borrowing and deposits and withdrawals of BETH (staked ETH on Binance). In addition to this, post-Merge, the Binance Pool will remove the ETH mining service.

Binance recently announced zero fee trading for the ETH/BUSD pair, as the Merge approaches. On August 10, the exchange also announced that it would support Ethereum Merge. Nonetheless, the exchange also noted that it is not completely ruling out support of “new forked tokens.”

Recall that Chandler Guo, prominent ETH miner, mentioed that he would be forking the Ethereum chain again. This would birth ETHPoW—a forked chain that would retain ETH mining post-Merge.