Again. When Bitcoin approaches its record price in dollars, the cryptosphere is in turmoil, optimistic and happy messages flourish on social networks and all the enthusiasts feverishly observe their portfolio also approaching their all-time high… Everyone? No ! Because a few unfortunate people found themselves unable to participate in the party because of a platform that no longer responds! Here is the mishap that happened a second time to Coinbase users on the night of March 4 to 5 while Bitcoin was flirting with $69,000. Story of a complicated night for Brian Armstrong’s teams and for their millions of customers around the world.
As Bitcoin is about to cross its ATH…
Last week, when Bitcoin attempted to cross its previous ATH for the first time – all time high – the Coinbase platform was showing signs of weakness and its users were complaining by the thousands on social networks about connection problems and of crazy sales. Its manager, sheepish, then explained afterwards that his exchange had prepared to increase its traffic capacity tenfold but that this had not been enough in the face of such an influx of connections. Brian Armstrong nevertheless recognized that it was too expensive to maintain higher levels of service permanently and that his teams were considering new procedures to cope with peaks in requests.
Unfortunately for him, the same phenomenon was repeated almost identically in the night of March 4 to 5 ! It was around 7 p.m. in Paris when a first message appeared on the social network X:
“We are aware that some users may experience increased latency on Coinbase.com and a few users may see a zero balance intermittently. Rest assured, your funds are safe. Our team is investigating this issue and will provide an update. Trading is not impacted at this time. »
First message from Coinbase – Source: Account
At this moment, Bitcoin just passed the $66,000 and everyone expects it to go up again, which has the gift of annoying Coinbase customers who would also like to join in the party! Less than an hour later, new message from the exchange which is intended to be reassuring: things are improving.
…Coinbase users are (again) blocked!
“We appreciate your patience. We are starting to see improvements in latencies and transfers. Rest assured that your funds are safe. »
Second message from Coinbase – Source: Account
We will ultimately have to wait two more hours to see a return to normal and it is 9:30 p.m. in mainland France when Coinbase announces the end of the problems with a final message:
“We released a hotfix that resolved the display issue affecting customer account balances and latency on Coinbase.com. We appreciate your patience. »
Third message from Coinbase – Source: Account
Needless to say, many user messages impatient and angry were posted all evening in response to these three messages. The moderators of the American giant kept a low profile and patiently apologized but the damage was done. In the early morning, the cryptosphere is still buzzing about this affair and we must admit, it does not look very serious for the platform.
Ironically, it is Coinbase that takes care of the bitcoins of almost all spot ETFs even though the exchange cannot manage the excess connections linked, probably, to these same ETFs! We can easily imagine the technical teams of the exchange working this morning on a solution to avoid repeating the same kind of nightmarish evening. Especially since Bitcoin does not seem ready to calm down and could start to panic the cryptosphere at any moment.