Binance just made an unexpected announcement. The most active cryptocurrency exchange is ‘undergoing temporary system maintenance,’ which normally doesn’t bode well for crypto prices. 

Binance Maintenence Coincides with 60M Minted USDT
Binance caught traders unaware once again today when all of a sudden it went down for “temporary system maintenance.” According to the Binance blog:
Binance has suspended deposits, withdrawals, spot trading, margin trading, P2P trading, lending, redemption, as well as asset transfers from sub-accounts, margin accounts, futures accounts, and fiat wallets. Please note that trading on Binance Futures will continue unaffected during the maintenance period.
Then, of course, Binance apologized for any “inconvenience” (something the exchange is getting very good at lately). CZ immediately took to Twitter to provide more information and calm the rising FUD.
He said that the maintenance was “unscheduled” but the team was working on it. He also reassured users for the (third?) time this week that all funds are #SAFU.

Funds are #SAFU. No need to panic.
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) February 19, 2020

In fact, this time around, it is the spot exchange that is affected by the issue. Futures traders who were caught in positions and REKT over the weekend due to “performance issues” were luckily unscathed. The reason for this, CZ clarified, is that Binance futures has a “separate matching engine.”
However calm traders are meant to be, Binance maintenance will likely affect crypto prices. The question is how exactly.
The sudden pause on trading on Binance happened to coincide with a fresh minting of 60M tether. Perfect timing or an uncanny coincidence? Did Binance run out of tether? Are crypto prices about to pump? Or are we in for a temporary crypto crash?

to perfect timing with binance maintaince …
— cryptoGuru363 (@CryptoGuru363) February 19, 2020

The slew of comments below the Whale Alert tweet seems to suggest that many people believe a huge pump is about to begin. But should traders be on their guard?

pic.twitter.com/jcXU0GoUfi
— Tomasz (@Tomasz99469827) February 19, 2020

Top Trader Calls for Caution
Whether Jacob Canfield noticed the fresh round of USDT being minted or not, TradingView’s number 1 BTC trader is calling for caution.
Binance temporarily being out of action could cause a “slight dip” with a “pump on small cap altcoins,” he said. This is typical of crypto markets after unexpected maintenance like this. Canfield warned:
Trade safe

Binance is temporarily down for maintenance. Care for your positions. We sometimes see a slight dip with a pump on small cap altcoins after these unexpected maintenances. Trade safe.
— Jacob Canfield (@JacobCanfield) February 19, 2020

The man at the top assures that trading should resume shortly. In an earlier tweet, he had said: “accurate ETAs are hard to give”. He also added that there was “no need to refresh constantly” to see if trading had begun as the exchange would let its users know.

We will give 20-30 minutes of time to cancel orders when systems are all back online, before trading, as we typically do for maintenances.
A lot of our new users may not know this yet.
Probably another 45-90 minutes to go. Very rough estimate, don’t know how accurate it is. https://t.co/s0AiE2akSx
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) February 19, 2020

There’s definitely no need to keep refreshing the Binance page when you can just keep your eyes on its CEO’s Twitter feed.
The latest news is that Binance will “waive everyone’s margin interests for today.” So, that’s some compensation for moving the market… But traders taking out large positions, be sure you don’t get REKT.
What do you make of Binance’s latest unscheduled maintenance? Add your thoughts below!

Images via Shutterstock, Twitter @cz_binance @jacobcanfield @Whale_Alert