Binance to suspend ETH deposits, withdrawals during “The Merge”

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, said it will suspend deposits and withdrawals for ETH and ERC-20 during “The Merge,” in support of Ethereum’s migration to the proof-of-stake (PoS) model.

See related article: Ethereum finalizes start date for Bellatrix upgrade

Fast facts

• Binance said on Thursday that it will do so on Sept. 6 for the “Bellatrix” consensus layer upgrade and Sept. 15 for the “Paris” execution layer upgrade.
• The exchange teased out two possible scenarios following the Merge. Scenario A: If no new token is created, Binance will then reopen deposits and withdrawals as soon as possible.
• Another scenario would be the chain being split into two competing chains with a new token created. Binance will then credit the users’ accounts with the forked token from the minority chain “at a ratio of 1:1” based on the snapshot of ETH balances before the Paris upgrade.
• In an event that a new token is created, Binance said the forked token will go through the same listing review process.
• The Merge intends to shift the Ethereum blockchain from its current proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism to a PoS model, a faster, more energy efficient, more secure way to scale projects.
• The Ethereum Foundation said that the mainnet merge will occur in two steps, the Bellatrix and Paris upgrades. The Bellatrix upgrade brings Ethereum’s consensus layer into a state ready to merge, and the Paris upgrade will switch the network from PoW to PoS.

See related article: Binance to support Ethereum’s PoS Merge, evaluate new forked tokens