Coinbase Crashes as Bitcoin Price Surges

Bitcoin's recent performance sparked a demand, pushing its price up to just about $60,000, nearing its all-time high in 2021. This drastic rise resulted from the aftereffects of US Bitcoin spot ETFs, culminating in a 42% price upswing this month, the highest monthly increase since December 2020. As of this writing, Bitcoin had soared above $61,448, reflecting a daily increase of 7.66%.

The crypto trading app Coinbase, often used to purchase, trade, and secure digital currencies, has experienced renewed interest in light of Bitcoin's sharp climb. The app's amplified usage, which includes a surge from casual crypto investors, contributed to its current system instability, affirming that the platform has been overwhelmed with high traffic.

Coinbase users expressed alarm on Wednesday upon discovering zero balances reflected in their accounts despite possessing cryptocurrency assets. The company has since acknowledged the issue, highlighting through their tech support channel and Status page that they are actively working on resolutions.

Coinbase began directing its efforts towards the problem in the morning, around 9:40 a.m. PST, asserting, "Our team is investigating this & will provide an update shortly. Your assets are safe."

However, the incident occurred amidst the return of a substantial number of casual investors in the crypto market, causing anxiety for users who seemingly found their accounts barren. Several users even shared images of their zero balances, demonstrating collective concern over the unexpected financial discrepancy.

By 10:44 a.m. PST, Coinbase reported an additional issue of increased latency within its Help Center, manifesting as extended wait times or the inability to launch a new support chat. By 11:29 PST, the company cited progress in customer trading despite persistence in errors related to logins, transactions, and specific payment methods due to heightened usage.

At 12:15 PM PST, Coinbase announced improved customer login and transaction processes despite continuing to experience heightened traffic which resulted in some persisting errors. The cryptocurrency trading platform reiterated its commitment to resolving these issues promptly and efficiently while keeping its user's assets secure.