Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has mistakenly burned over $7,000 in bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin) due to incorrect conversion of the Taproot address. According to Stack Exchange user "meshcollider", he requested a BTC withdrawal on Binance and used a Taproot address (starting with bc1p) as the recipient.
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He noted that the exchange checked the order as completed and provided a transaction ID. However, meshcollider noticed the funds did not arrive as his Taproot address was not listed as the beneficiary. As of press time, the address hodls 0.149 BTC (~$7,300). He added:
"Requested Binance chat support and They say taproot is not supported and Their system automatically transform/convert to a BC1Q (native segwit) address."
The user says the exchange is trying to convince him it is his fault. It is worth noting that in November Binance confirmed it would support the Bitcoin Taproot upgrade. Blockchain developer Pieter Wuille believes that the problem is on Binance's side as the fact that they accepted the address (even ignoring the misinterpretation as P2WSH) shows "extreme incompetence on the side of the sender."
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