The latest update introduces a complete overhaul of the crypto exchange’s matching engine
Binance, a Malta-based cryptocurrency exchange and one of the largest in the world, has returned to normal operation after implementing a full overhaul of its matching engine.
The upgrade was announced on the company’s website earlier this week, when Binance informed users that it would be upgrading its spot trading platform on June 28. The planned maintenance window was initially scheduled for two hours, during which a number of platform features were unavailable, including deposits, withdrawals, spot trading and P2P trading.
The upgrade extended beyond the originally planned two hours but was successfully completed early this morning.
Since launching in 2017, Binance has carried out numerous system upgrades. Many of those updates were incremental improvements aimed at enhancing platform performance, while others introduced more visible new features.
In 2019, Binance rolled out its futures products and margin trading features, followed shortly after by lending products and cryptocurrency staking functionality. The exchange also added options to its derivatives trading platform earlier this year.
While those developments were significant, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao says this latest upgrade is by far the company’s most important. The update includes a completely revised matching engine, written in a programming language developed specifically for this purpose. Zhao says the work on it took more than two years.
Details about the precise changes and how they will shape the exchange’s future remain limited. Zhao has said the update is part of the company’s plans to prepare the platform for the “next wave.”
When the Binance platform launched, it featured what many considered the fastest matching engine in the industry, capable of processing more than 1.4 million orders per second.
However, a dramatic increase in active users—along with the growing number of markets offered over the past three years—led to incidents where the exchange struggled to process information, causing significant issues for users during critical market moments.
Although Binance has been cautious about revealing specific future performance improvements, Zhao revealed on Twitter that the new upgrade delivers roughly ten times the performance of the previous matching engine. He added that, in theory, the exchange could handle volumes up to a hundred times greater, though it must be careful not to overload other systems.
Translated by Carolane de Palmas