Binance account consolidation sends Ethereum gas fees soaring

Binance spent $840k in gas to consolidate accounts in what some labeled an inefficient process

article-image

CryptoFX/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

A “routine” Binance account consolidation process sent gas fees on Ethereum soaring, prompting accusations of incompetence on Thursday. 

At approximately 6 am ET, an address labeled Binance 14 received hundreds of incoming ether transactions. Per Etherscan, the process sent gas prices as high as 280 gwei — over twenty times more expensive than the 13 gwei at the time of writing. 

The activity briefly made the address one of the largest gas guzzlers on Ethereum, as the wallet was responsible for 83% of fees at the peak of the transfers. Top spenders tend to include the decentralized exchange Uniswap, various MEV bots, and layer-2 networks settling transactions to the base chain.

Source: Etherscan

The Binance 14 address has spent $842,000 in total gas fees on a 24-hour basis, and just $562 in the last three hours. Over the course of its existence, the address — which currently accounts for $250 million of Binance’s nearly $56 billion in holdings — is responsible for $95 million in gas expenditure between both incoming and outgoing transfers. 

In a statement to Blockworks, a Binance spokesperson said, “Binance carried out a routine consolidation of [ether] ETH to one of its wallets. Any impact to gas prices was unintentional but quickly resolved.”

Indeed, throughout its existence the Binance 14 address has seen a number of gas spend spikes, including one on Dec. 9, 2022 that led to an 880 ETH spend over a 24-hour period. 

Binance was the target of ire on social media as a result of the account consolidation process, with many observers noting that if they had simply spread the transactions out over a longer period of time, the gas spike would have been significantly subdued. 

As a result of what some labeled as inefficient methodology, Binance ended up spending more on gas than they would have otherwise and made the network more expensive for others. 

“Every interaction I have had with them screams of incompetence,” said Rotki app founder Lefteris Karapetsas of the transfers.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Nillion_DeSci_Report_Template.png

Research

Nillion’s Monad Integration is poised to catalyze the next phase of DeSci’s evolution by eliminating key privacy bottlenecks. This synergy allows researchers, institutions, and DAOs to exchange sensitive data and insights securely while managing governance and payments onchain.

article-image

Celebrating the wisdom of a diamond-handed Bitcoin Legend

article-image

With the success of RWAs and stablecoins, DePINs could onboard the next wave of crypto users

article-image

Is crypto straying too far from things of value?

article-image

Firedancer and Solana ETFs look less significant than before

article-image

The newly passed House bill amplifies that strategic pivot for the Trump administration, from attempting austerity to running the economy hot

article-image

Unable to secure further funding, the game cycled through three different blockchains and at least five different game engines since 2018