TL;DR
Coinbase experienced major technical issues on February 28th, showing zero balances for some users and preventing buys/sells. While Coinbase claims user assets are safe, the outage cuts off access and damages trust. As crypto continues mainstream adoption, we must demand better reliability from leading platforms.
Coinbase Suffers Outage, Users See Zero Balances
Major crypto exchange Coinbase degraded yesterday in a serious incident leaving some users unable to access their funds. According to Coinbase’s status page, the problems started around 08:24 PST on February 28th, 2024.
Issues Prevent Buying, Selling, and Balances
Coinbase reported two major issues. First, some users saw a zero balance across their accounts. Second, others faced errors when attempting to buy or sell cryptocurrencies.
The company confirmed they were investigating but asserted that user assets remained secure despite the problems. Still, seeing zero balances certainly alarmed affected customers.
Lasting Over 12 Hours And Counting
The issues persisted throughout the day, with Coinbase giving intermittent updates that engineers continued working on a fix.
However, even by 9:40 PM PST the problems remained unresolved. With users locked out of accessing or trading their funds for over 12 hours, confidence in the exchange wavers.
An Increasingly Mainstream Problem
As cryptocurrencies gain broader public awareness and adoption, retail investors expect to rely on platforms like Coinbase allowing participation.
Downtime preventing access flies against the ethos of self-custody and decentralization that draws many people to crypto. Additionally, anyone hoping to sell assets at a given price during volatility could miss the opportunity.
What Cryptocurrency Owners Can Do
Consider keeping a portion of your crypto off exchanges in “cold” hardware storage devices. This way various technical and security issues with centralized platforms cannot separate you from control over your assets.
While inconvenient for active trading, cold storage provides true independence and peace of mind – aligning with principles behind cryptocurrency itself.
Coinbase Outage Coincides With Major Crypto Price Swing
The timing of Coinbase’s technical failures could hardly have been worse. As issues preventing user access began around 08:24 AM PST, Bitcoin sat under 10% from reaching a new all-time high price.
Then, as more users found zero balances reflected around noon EST, chaos struck the markets. Over just 15 minutes Bitcoin plunged from $64,000 down nearly 9% to $59,000 – representing a staggering $100 billion loss across the entire cryptocurrency market cap.
While Coinbase maintains funds are still secure, they have yet to fully restore service. So the crash occurred with users locked out, unable to access their accounts or attempt to make trades during intense volatility.
The exact reason behind the sudden crash remains unclear. However the timing aligns closely with rising panic and plunging faith in Coinbase as a reliable platform compounded by its extensive problems.
This reflects the worst fears of critics warning of crypto’s instability. And while prices tend to recover, it also showcases the weakness of decentralized assets when major centralized exchanges falter. Until Coinbase gets its house in order, it risks jeopardizing adoption for the entire cryptocurrency sphere.
The Call for Accountability
The occurrence of such technical issues raises questions about the preparedness of centralized exchanges to manage unexpected challenges and protect user interests. It underscores the importance of robust infrastructure and responsive customer service to address and mitigate the impacts of such incidents swiftly.
A Nudge Towards Self-Sovereignty
This situation serves as a potent reminder of the risks associated with relying solely on centralized platforms for cryptocurrency management. It highlights the value of exploring alternative storage solutions, such as cold storage, to ensure greater control over and security of one’s digital assets. Embracing self-sovereignty in asset management not only enhances security but also aligns with the foundational principles of the cryptocurrency movement: decentralization and independence from traditional financial systems.
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