Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Hourglass Users Required to Complete KYC by November 12th Deadline

Hourglass Extends Stablecoin Pre-Deposit Phase 2 KYC Verification Dea

PANews reported on November 15th that Hourglass tweeted that Phase 2 of the Stable Vault has concluded. Over 10,000 verified wallets contributed over $1.1 billion in eligible deposits. Phase 2 allocation was pro rata, based on eligible deposits, with a guaranteed minimum allocation of $1,000 to prevent dilution of funds from smaller participants by larger depositors. For each eligible deposit, the first $1,000 was allocated 100%; amounts exceeding $1,000 were allocated pro rata.

Based on approximately $1.1 billion in eligible deposits and $500 million in deployment capacity, the final allocation for amounts exceeding the $1,000 minimum threshold is approximately 45%, with the remaining approximately 55% to be refunded. Refunds for the unallocated portion will be issued early next week. Users marked as ineligible can continue to withdraw funds at any time.

trade.xyz launches contract trading for Japanese storage stock Kioxia (KOXIA)

According to official announcements, trade.xyz has launched contract trading for Japanese storage stock Kioxia (KOXIA), supporting up to 10x leverage. The Kioxia (KIOXIA) product tracks the value of each common share of Kioxia Holdings Corporation, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (stock code: 285A). Its price conversion mechanism converts the underlying Japanese stock price from yen to U.S. dollars based on the current USD/JPY exchange rate. Kioxia manufactures NAND flash memory and solid-state drives (SSDs) for use in data centers, consumer electronics, mobile devices, and enterprise storage.

2 minutes ago

Japanese storage chip manufacturer Kioxia's share price rose more than 12%

According to Bitget market data, the share price of Japanese storage chip manufacturer Kioxia Holdings (铠侠) surged by 12%.

2 minutes ago

Coinbase secures Luxembourg’s MiCA license, to base its EU operations in Luxembourg.

According to an official announcement, Luxembourg has officially become Coinbase’s registered MiCA Home under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. Moving forward, Coinbase will use Luxembourg as its EU business hub to provide compliant crypto asset services for users across EU member states.

2 minutes ago

The KyberSwap attacker has transferred another 2000 ETH to Tornado Cash, with over 80% of the stolen funds now laundered.

According to PeckShield’s monitoring, an address identified as the KyberSwap attacker has once again transferred 2,000 ETH to Tornado Cash. Over the past two years, this attacker has cumulatively transferred and mixed 16,100 ETH via Tornado Cash, equivalent to roughly $40 million at current prices, accounting for over 80% of the $48.8 million lost in the KyberSwap attack in November 2023. Some of the stolen funds have not yet been fully transferred.

2 minutes ago

James Wynn closed out his 40x Bitcoin short position, netting $30,000 in profits, and shifted to opening a 50x S&P 500 short position.

According to monitoring by OnchainLens, James Wynn has liquidated his 40x leveraged Bitcoin (BTC) short position, pocketing roughly $30,000 in profit. He subsequently opened a new 50x leveraged S&P 500 (SP500) short position at a price of 334.42, betting on a future decline in the US stock market.

2 minutes ago

Micron's conference call delivers strong signals: the memory shortage will continue until 2028, and AI long-term contracts are rewriting the industry cycle narrative.

Micron Technology (MU) revealed in its early-morning earnings call that its strategic customer agreements rose from 1 to 16 sequentially, covering roughly 20% of its DRAM shipments and around one-third of its NAND shipments. Of these deals, 14 calculated at minimum contract prices represent a cumulative remaining revenue of approximately $100 billion. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said these agreements will "fundamentally transform" the company’s business model. The key takeaway for the market is that Micron is being repositioned from a highly cyclical memory stock to an AI infrastructure provider with far greater revenue visibility. During the call, Micron disclosed it expects industry tightness to persist beyond 2027, and even as supply gradually improves in 2028, there is no clear timeline for supply to catch up with demand. Management attributed this gap to the large scale, complexity, and long lead times of new semiconductor fab construction. CFO Mark Murphy noted that DRAM revenue jumped 343% year-over-year to $31.3 billion, while NAND revenue surged 361% YoY to $9.9 billion. DRAM prices rose in the low-60% range, and NAND prices increased in the mid-80% range. He explained that the quarter’s earnings, which handily beat market expectations, were driven more by pricing power and supply-demand imbalances rather than just shipment volume. The company forecasts capital expenditure of roughly $10 billion this quarter, and $27 billion for full fiscal 2026. Fiscal 2027 quarterly capex will exceed the FY2026 fourth quarter level, with more than half allocated to cleanroom construction. However, the CFO also stated that free cash flow for the current quarter is expected to continue rising sharply. Overall, the call’s messaging sent three key signals to the market: persistent memory shortages, customer willingness to sign long-term agreements, and further upside for prices. This drove Micron’s (MU) shares to surge nearly 16% in U.S. post-market trading.

2 minutes ago

trade.xyz launches contract trading for Japanese storage stock Kioxia (KOXIA)

According to official announcements, trade.xyz has launched contract trading for Japanese storage stock Kioxia (KOXIA), supporting up to 10x leverage. The Kioxia (KIOXIA) product tracks the value of each common share of Kioxia Holdings Corporation, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (stock code: 285A). Its price conversion mechanism converts the underlying Japanese stock price from yen to U.S. dollars based on the current USD/JPY exchange rate. Kioxia manufactures NAND flash memory and solid-state drives (SSDs) for use in data centers, consumer electronics, mobile devices, and enterprise storage.

1 minutes ago

Japanese storage chip manufacturer Kioxia's share price rose more than 12%

According to Bitget market data, the share price of Japanese storage chip manufacturer Kioxia Holdings (铠侠) surged by 12%.

1 minutes ago

Coinbase secures Luxembourg’s MiCA license, to base its EU operations in Luxembourg.

According to an official announcement, Luxembourg has officially become Coinbase’s registered MiCA Home under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. Moving forward, Coinbase will use Luxembourg as its EU business hub to provide compliant crypto asset services for users across EU member states.

1 minutes ago

The KyberSwap attacker has transferred another 2000 ETH to Tornado Cash, with over 80% of the stolen funds now laundered.

According to PeckShield’s monitoring, an address identified as the KyberSwap attacker has once again transferred 2,000 ETH to Tornado Cash. Over the past two years, this attacker has cumulatively transferred and mixed 16,100 ETH via Tornado Cash, equivalent to roughly $40 million at current prices, accounting for over 80% of the $48.8 million lost in the KyberSwap attack in November 2023. Some of the stolen funds have not yet been fully transferred.

1 minutes ago

James Wynn closed out his 40x Bitcoin short position, netting $30,000 in profits, and shifted to opening a 50x S&P 500 short position.

According to monitoring by OnchainLens, James Wynn has liquidated his 40x leveraged Bitcoin (BTC) short position, pocketing roughly $30,000 in profit. He subsequently opened a new 50x leveraged S&P 500 (SP500) short position at a price of 334.42, betting on a future decline in the US stock market.

1 minutes ago

Micron's conference call delivers strong signals: the memory shortage will continue until 2028, and AI long-term contracts are rewriting the industry cycle narrative.

Micron Technology (MU) revealed in its early-morning earnings call that its strategic customer agreements rose from 1 to 16 sequentially, covering roughly 20% of its DRAM shipments and around one-third of its NAND shipments. Of these deals, 14 calculated at minimum contract prices represent a cumulative remaining revenue of approximately $100 billion. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said these agreements will "fundamentally transform" the company’s business model. The key takeaway for the market is that Micron is being repositioned from a highly cyclical memory stock to an AI infrastructure provider with far greater revenue visibility. During the call, Micron disclosed it expects industry tightness to persist beyond 2027, and even as supply gradually improves in 2028, there is no clear timeline for supply to catch up with demand. Management attributed this gap to the large scale, complexity, and long lead times of new semiconductor fab construction. CFO Mark Murphy noted that DRAM revenue jumped 343% year-over-year to $31.3 billion, while NAND revenue surged 361% YoY to $9.9 billion. DRAM prices rose in the low-60% range, and NAND prices increased in the mid-80% range. He explained that the quarter’s earnings, which handily beat market expectations, were driven more by pricing power and supply-demand imbalances rather than just shipment volume. The company forecasts capital expenditure of roughly $10 billion this quarter, and $27 billion for full fiscal 2026. Fiscal 2027 quarterly capex will exceed the FY2026 fourth quarter level, with more than half allocated to cleanroom construction. However, the CFO also stated that free cash flow for the current quarter is expected to continue rising sharply. Overall, the call’s messaging sent three key signals to the market: persistent memory shortages, customer willingness to sign long-term agreements, and further upside for prices. This drove Micron’s (MU) shares to surge nearly 16% in U.S. post-market trading.

1 minutes ago

PANews reported on November 19th that Hourglass tweeted that it has completed refunds for all erroneous transactions under the "Stable Pre-Deposit Program," with the related USDC returned to the original wallets. The official statement listed three types of erroneous transactions: directly transferring USDC to the contract address, setting the pre-iUSDT share receiving address as the contract, and calling redeemNonKyc with the contract as the recipient. Hourglass also published a link to the refund transaction hashes for verification. These refunds are not included in the program; all erroneously deposited funds have been returned to user wallets.

trade.xyz launches contract trading for Japanese storage stock Kioxia (KOXIA)

According to official announcements, trade.xyz has launched contract trading for Japanese storage stock Kioxia (KOXIA), supporting up to 10x leverage. The Kioxia (KIOXIA) product tracks the value of each common share of Kioxia Holdings Corporation, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (stock code: 285A). Its price conversion mechanism converts the underlying Japanese stock price from yen to U.S. dollars based on the current USD/JPY exchange rate. Kioxia manufactures NAND flash memory and solid-state drives (SSDs) for use in data centers, consumer electronics, mobile devices, and enterprise storage.

1 minutes ago

Japanese storage chip manufacturer Kioxia's share price rose more than 12%

According to Bitget market data, the share price of Japanese storage chip manufacturer Kioxia Holdings (铠侠) surged by 12%.

1 minutes ago

Coinbase secures Luxembourg’s MiCA license, to base its EU operations in Luxembourg.

According to an official announcement, Luxembourg has officially become Coinbase’s registered MiCA Home under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. Moving forward, Coinbase will use Luxembourg as its EU business hub to provide compliant crypto asset services for users across EU member states.

1 minutes ago

The KyberSwap attacker has transferred another 2000 ETH to Tornado Cash, with over 80% of the stolen funds now laundered.

According to PeckShield’s monitoring, an address identified as the KyberSwap attacker has once again transferred 2,000 ETH to Tornado Cash. Over the past two years, this attacker has cumulatively transferred and mixed 16,100 ETH via Tornado Cash, equivalent to roughly $40 million at current prices, accounting for over 80% of the $48.8 million lost in the KyberSwap attack in November 2023. Some of the stolen funds have not yet been fully transferred.

1 minutes ago

James Wynn closed out his 40x Bitcoin short position, netting $30,000 in profits, and shifted to opening a 50x S&P 500 short position.

According to monitoring by OnchainLens, James Wynn has liquidated his 40x leveraged Bitcoin (BTC) short position, pocketing roughly $30,000 in profit. He subsequently opened a new 50x leveraged S&P 500 (SP500) short position at a price of 334.42, betting on a future decline in the US stock market.

1 minutes ago

Micron's conference call delivers strong signals: the memory shortage will continue until 2028, and AI long-term contracts are rewriting the industry cycle narrative.

Micron Technology (MU) revealed in its early-morning earnings call that its strategic customer agreements rose from 1 to 16 sequentially, covering roughly 20% of its DRAM shipments and around one-third of its NAND shipments. Of these deals, 14 calculated at minimum contract prices represent a cumulative remaining revenue of approximately $100 billion. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said these agreements will "fundamentally transform" the company’s business model. The key takeaway for the market is that Micron is being repositioned from a highly cyclical memory stock to an AI infrastructure provider with far greater revenue visibility. During the call, Micron disclosed it expects industry tightness to persist beyond 2027, and even as supply gradually improves in 2028, there is no clear timeline for supply to catch up with demand. Management attributed this gap to the large scale, complexity, and long lead times of new semiconductor fab construction. CFO Mark Murphy noted that DRAM revenue jumped 343% year-over-year to $31.3 billion, while NAND revenue surged 361% YoY to $9.9 billion. DRAM prices rose in the low-60% range, and NAND prices increased in the mid-80% range. He explained that the quarter’s earnings, which handily beat market expectations, were driven more by pricing power and supply-demand imbalances rather than just shipment volume. The company forecasts capital expenditure of roughly $10 billion this quarter, and $27 billion for full fiscal 2026. Fiscal 2027 quarterly capex will exceed the FY2026 fourth quarter level, with more than half allocated to cleanroom construction. However, the CFO also stated that free cash flow for the current quarter is expected to continue rising sharply. Overall, the call’s messaging sent three key signals to the market: persistent memory shortages, customer willingness to sign long-term agreements, and further upside for prices. This drove Micron’s (MU) shares to surge nearly 16% in U.S. post-market trading.

1 minutes ago

PANews reported on December 31 that Hourglass announced early this morning that the second phase of its Stable pre-deposit program has ended, and deposits are now available for withdrawal. All users who received allocations in the second phase can now withdraw their funds through Merkl, and users with excess refunds can also withdraw through the Merkl dashboard. Users who were not approved to participate in the second phase can withdraw their USDC at any time through the application or directly from the underlying smart contract.

Why BIP-361 Can’t Rescue Satoshi’s Bitcoin, According to Charles Hoskinson

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Network congestion is the most common cause of crypto transaction delays, especially during periods of market volatility or popular events. Transaction fees function as a bidding system, where higher fees incentivize miners to prioritize processing higher-fee transactions over lower-fee ones. Exchange-side reviews, including KYC checks and security holds, frequently delay transactions before they reach the blockchain network at all. Bitcoin processes roughly 7 transactions per second, with confirmation times sometimes exceeding 200 minutes during peak congestion periods in 2026. Layer-2 solutions like the Lightning Network and rollup ecosystems are being developed to address throughput limitations on major chains. Few things test a crypto user’s patience like watching a transaction sit in “pending” status for hours. What was marketed as near-instant digital money can sometimes feel like waiting for an hourglass to drain. In 2026, despite significant improvements in blockchain technology, transaction delays remain a common frustration. 

Understanding why they happen is the first step toward managing expectations and avoiding unnecessary stress. The causes are usually technical rather than mysterious, and in most cases, they involve a combination of network congestion, fee economics, and exchange-level processing.

How Crypto Transactions Actually Work When a cryptocurrency transaction is initiated, it is broadcast to the blockchain network and enters the mempool, a holding area for unconfirmed transactions. Miners or validators then select transactions from this pool and include them in new blocks.

According to Blockchain.com’s support documentation, one of the most common reasons for transaction delays is network congestion, where high transaction volumes create a larger pool for miners to process. 

Each blockchain has its own block time. Bitcoin produces a new block roughly every ten minutes, while networks like Solana and Ripple can process transactions in seconds.

ChangeNow’s 2026 guide explains that waiting time for confirmations exists primarily due to consensus mechanisms, whether Proof of Work or Proof of Stake, inherent block times, and the requirement for multiple confirmations to ensure security.

Network Congestion and The Fee Factor Congestion is the most frequent culprit behind slow transactions. When market volatility spikes or popular events occur, networks become crowded with transactions competing for limited block space. Kriptomat’s analysis notes that during congestion, miners are compensated by transaction fees, which rise as demand exceeds supply. 

A user who sets a low fee may find their transaction deprioritized. CoolWallet notes that Bitcoin can handle approximately 7 transactions per second and may take 60 minutes or longer to confirm, while networks like Ripple can handle over 1,000 transactions per second with confirmation in under 5 seconds. 

As of late April 2026, Bitcoin confirmation times have occasionally exceeded 200 minutes during peak congestion periods. The fee market essentially creates a bidding system. Higher fees incentivize miners to prioritize a transaction, while lower fees push it further back in the queue.

Exchange-Side Delays Are Often Overlooked Many users assume a slow transaction is a blockchain issue when the delay actually occurs before the transaction reaches the network. Exchanges and platforms often impose internal reviews before broadcasting a transaction. Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, anti-money laundering compliance, and security protocols can all add time. 

Exodus wallet’s documentation explains that if a transaction status shows “pending” without a transaction ID, it means the exchange has not yet broadcast it to the blockchain and is still conducting internal checks. 

Security features like 24-hour withdrawal locks triggered by password resets or changes to two-factor authentication are another common source of delay. For fiat-to-crypto deposits made via bank transfer, exchanges may hold funds for up to seven business days until the deposit fully clears.

Spam Attacks and Network Disruptions Beyond organic congestion, some networks face intentional disruption. CoolWallet has documented instances in which bad actors carry out spam attacks by sending large volumes of small transactions with minimal fees to deliberately slow down a network. These attacks create artificial congestion, pushing legitimate transactions further down the queue. 

Network upgrades and forks can also cause temporary processing disruptions. During a hard fork or software update, transaction processing may be temporarily slowed or paused while the network adjusts. These interruptions are typically short-lived but can cause anxiety for users who are unaware they are occurring.

What Users Can Do About Delays There are practical steps users can take to manage or avoid transaction delays. Setting an appropriate transaction fee based on current network conditions is the most effective approach. Many wallets now offer fee estimation tools that suggest optimal amounts. For stuck Bitcoin transactions, some wallets support Replace-By-Fee (RBF), which allows users to rebroadcast a transaction with a higher fee. 

Choosing the right blockchain for the task also matters. For time-sensitive transfers, networks with faster confirmation times may be more appropriate than Bitcoin.

Users can also check block explorers to monitor the status of their transactions and distinguish between network-side delays and exchange-side holds. As ChangeNow’s guide suggests, understanding the factors involved can help users better manage expectations and optimize their transactions.

The Bigger Picture on Transaction Speed The industry continues to work on solutions. Layer-2 networks like Bitcoin’s Lightning Network and Ethereum’s rollup ecosystem aim to process transactions off-chain for faster settlement. Proof of Stake networks have generally delivered faster confirmation times than Proof of Work alternatives.

However, trade-offs exist between speed, security, and decentralization. As blockchain adoption grows, the pressure to improve transaction throughput will only intensify, making ongoing infrastructure development critical for mainstream viability.

FAQs Why is my crypto transaction pending?
It is likely waiting in the mempool for miners to include it in a block or undergoing exchange-side review.

How long do Bitcoin transactions take?
Bitcoin produces blocks every ten minutes, but full confirmation can take 60 minutes or longer during congestion.

Can I speed up a stuck transaction?
Some wallets support Replace-By-Fee, allowing you to rebroadcast with a higher fee to incentivize faster processing.

What is the mempool?
It is a holding area where unconfirmed transactions wait to be selected by miners and included in new blocks.

Do all cryptocurrencies have slow transactions?
No, networks like Ripple and Solana confirm transactions in seconds compared to Bitcoin’s much longer times.

Why does the exchange hold my withdrawal?
Exchanges conduct internal security checks, KYC compliance, and may enforce cooling-off periods after account changes.

What causes network congestion?
High transaction volumes from market volatility, popular events, or intentional spam attacks create backlogs on blockchain networks.

References Blockchain.com – Why Hasn’t My Transaction Confirmed Yet?: https://support.blockchain.com/hc/en-us/articles/217116406-Why-hasn-t-my-transaction-confirmed-yet ChangeNow – Crypto Transaction Confirmations in 2026:
https://changenow.io/blog/how-crypto-transactions-are-confirmed CoolWallet – 8 Reasons Why Your Bitcoin Transaction is Delayed: https://www.coolwallet.io/blogs/blog/delayed-crypto-blockchain-transaction-and-history Exodus – Why Is My Crypto Transaction Pending?: https://www.exodus.com/support/en/articles/8598626-why-is-my-crypto-transaction-pending