Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, said Monday that it was temporarily pausing Bitcoin withdrawals.
"Binance has temporarily paused #Bitcoin withdrawals on the $BTC network," the exchange tweeted. "Meanwhile, you can still withdraw BTC on other networks. This is due to a stuck on-chain transaction. Our team is currently working on a solution and will provide further updates soon."
The announcement came as Bitcoin prices have retreated sharply, taking the cryptocurrency below the lowest levels since December of 2020, as surging interest rates reduced demand for the world's biggest cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network froze withdraws from its deposit base due to what the group called "extreme market conditions."
"Acting in the interest of our community is our top priority," the lender said in a statement. "In service of that commitment and to adhere to our risk management framework, we have activated a clause in our Terms of Use that will allow for this process to take place."
Celsius did not explain what these "extreme market conditions" are.
But the news reinforces mistrust around cryptocurrencies as a month ago the market was already shaken by the sudden collapse of the UST and Luna coins.
Investors are also worried that the central bank will raise its rates sharply to fight inflation, which is at its highest in 40 years.
Bitcoin was trading around $23,858.42 at the time of writing, according to data firm CoinGecko.
The digital currency has lost more than 62.9% of its value since its all-time high set last November at $69,044.77.
Overall, the crypto market has lost $2 trillion since November and has a market value of $1.07 trillion now, compared to $3 trillion just eight months ago.
Binance is also contending with an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into whether the firm broke securities-related rules when the firm launched its native BNB token as part of an initial coin offering (ICO) five years ago.
