Binance Cuts Time Needed for BTC, ETH Deposits and Withdrawals

Binance has just cut the time needed to make withdrawals and deposits in two top cryptocurrencies.

The crypto exchange announced Tuesday that it's adjusted its systems so that the number of block confirmations – in effect, how long before a transaction is considered confirmed as complete and can be executed – has been halved for bitcoin (BTC) deposits to 1 block confirmation. Withdrawals will take two confirmations.

For ethereum (ETH) and related ERC-20 tokens, Binance said 12 block confirmations are now required for deposits and withdrawals – that's down from the previously required 30 confirmations.

To be clear, the respective blockchains will confirm blocks as normal and are not controlled by Binance. For the faster service, the exchange is accepting a reduced number of confirmations as sufficient to alter wallet balances within its own systems

Retweeting the update, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said simply: "Faster."

The update comes as the latest in a string of service additions and enhancements from Binance.

In the last few weeks, it's been revealed that the platform will be rolling out stablecoins and a bitcoin-pegged token on its own blockchain. It's also announced that crypto futures trading with up to 20x leverage will be launched soon.

The firm's also been upping its compliance game through new partnerships with IdentityMind, Elliptic and CipherTrace to beef up its anti-money laundering procedures.

More controversially, the firm has barred all users from the U.S. from its international site Binance.com, likely due to regulatory issues, but is preparing to provide the States with its own regulated platform shortly. Former Ripple exec Catherine Coley was recently hired to lead that effort as CEO.

Binance CEO CZ image courtesy of Binance