Binance Axes Three Altcoins, Freezes Withdrawals Across 14 Networks—Spring Cleaning or Red Flag?

Binance just dropped the hammer—three altcoins get the boot while withdrawals grind to a halt on nearly a dozen and a half networks. Traders scrambling, bags getting heavier, and the usual suspects crying ’centralization’ on Crypto Twitter.

Here’s the kicker: the delisted tokens weren’t even in the gutter—mid-cap projects with actual use cases. Makes you wonder if this is exchange hygiene... or a quiet prep for the next regulatory slap. Remember when ’compliance’ just meant moving your HQ to Malta?

Pro tip: When an exchange starts pruning assets faster than a hedge fund manager cuts staff before bonus season, maybe—just maybe—it’s time to check your own exposure. Not your keys, not your coins... but hey, who needs self-custody when you’ve got ’institutional-grade security,’ right?

Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is making critical adjustments that will impact a large number of users this week. With Ethereum’s upcoming hard fork, Binance has announced it will both delist underperforming trading pairs and temporarily suspend withdrawals and deposits on several networks.

Delisting of Spot Trading Pairs on May 9

Binance will delist three spot trading pairs—ANIME/BNB, STRK/BTC, and THE/BTC—on May 9, 2025, at 03:00 UTC. The exchange stated that the decision was made due to low trading volumes and poor liquidity, which can negatively affect the user experience and overall market quality. Users who hold positions in these pairs are advised to close or adjust them before the delisting takes effect.

Temporary Suspension of Deposits and Withdrawals on May 7

In addition to the delisting, Binance will suspend deposits and withdrawals across multiple blockchain networks on May 7, 2025, to support the upcoming Ethereum network upgrade and hard fork. The suspension will begin at 09:45 UTC, approximately 20 minutes before the scheduled upgrade at 10:05 UTC.

The networks affected include Ethereum (ETH), Arbitrum (ARB), Optimism (OP), zkSync Era (ZKSYNC), Base (BASE), Manta Network (MANTA), Starknet (STRK), Polygon (POL), Metis (METIS), Scroll (SCR), Cyber (CYBER), Metal DAO (MTL), Celo (CELO), and Worldcoin (WLD). Binance has confirmed that deposits and withdrawals on these networks will resume once the upgraded network is stable and secure.

Binance noted that these measures are part of its broader effort to ensure platform reliability, asset security, and smooth operations during critical blockchain events like the Ethereum upgrade.

This Ethereum hard fork is expected to introduce several CORE improvements to the network, and Binance’s proactive steps are designed to minimize risk and enhance user safety throughout the process.