Coinbase Experiences Technical Issues Amid Bitcoin Price Surge
Top U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase recently revealed that some users were facing errors while transacting as the price of Bitcoin reached its peak and subsequently collapsed. The company acknowledged the technical troubles in a status update posted after resolving previous intermittent transaction failures. These issues arose after Bitcoin surged to a new all-time high and triggered liquidations and sell-offs, generating significant interest from retail investors on platforms like Coinbase.
In response to inquiries about system stability, a Coinbase spokesperson stated that the company is committed to increasing economic freedom for over 1 billion people. They expressed encouragement over the market’s excitement and emphasized their dedication to enhancing the capacity and resilience of their systems.
Availability Issues Prior to Record Price
Prior to reaching the new record price, Coinbase worked overnight to address availability issues. They had previously disclosed that some users might experience intermittent errors in trading, deposits, and withdrawals on Coinbase.com. In case of failures, users were advised to retry their transactions.
Coinbase Outage Tracked by Downdetector
A third-party monitoring service called Downdetector tracked the recent Coinbase outage. User reports of the outage spiked around the same time as Coinbase’s status update.
Bitcoin Flash Crash on Coinbase
Crypto Twitter was abuzz with discussions about a “flash crash” in Bitcoin’s price specifically on Coinbase. The price chart showed that BTC reached an all-time high of $69,324 before dropping to as low as $59,224 within five hours—a decline of over 6%. This reset the value of Bitcoin back to its level on February 27.
Coinbase Crashes during Bitcoin Bull Runs
It is not uncommon for Coinbase to experience difficulties during Bitcoin bull runs due to the increased interest in the cryptocurrency. In fact, many consider Coinbase crashes to be indicative of an official Bitcoin bull run.
Uncommon System Outages
While it is expected for crypto-related services and infrastructure to be strained during Bitcoin bull runs, widespread system outages like those reported by Coinbase are uncommon. Other exchanges, such as Kraken and Binance, have incident reports that coincide with the current crypto storm but are limited to specific networks or crypto pairings.
User Base Comparison
Coinbase has approximately 110 million monthly active users, making it one of the largest crypto exchanges. Binance, on the other hand, has an estimated 128 million monthly active users, while Kraken serves around 9 million monthly active users.
Coinbase Stock Performance
The price of Coinbase stock (NASDAQ: COIN) experienced a similar rise-and-fall trajectory. It climbed 80% over the past month but fell 6% in the last 24 hours at the time of writing.
Hot Take: Coinbase Faces Technical Challenges amid Bitcoin Volatility
As Bitcoin continues its volatile journey, Coinbase has once again faced technical challenges that affected its users’ ability to transact smoothly. The recent surge in Bitcoin’s price triggered liquidations and sell-offs, drawing significant interest from retail investors on platforms like Coinbase. While Coinbase’s system outages during Bitcoin bull runs are not surprising, they are not commonly observed across the industry. As one of the largest crypto exchanges, Coinbase’s performance during these times is closely watched by traders and enthusiasts alike.