Binance halts bitcoin withdrawals due to network congestion, causing crypto stocks to drop.

Shares of cryptocurrency- and blockchain-related companies, including Coinbase, Bitfarms, Riot Platforms, Marathon Digital, and Hut 8 Mining, fell in early trading hours on Monday after Binance halted its bitcoin withdrawals for several hours due to heavy volumes and rising processing fees. Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, shut bitcoin withdrawals for an hour late on Sunday and for about three hours on Monday, saying there was a glut of pending transactions because it hadn't offered so-called miners a high enough reward to log the trades on the blockchain.