Amidst a frenzy of surging Bitcoin prices, Coinbase users were gripped by panic as their accounts displayed empty balances mere hours after Bitcoin’s historic peak of $64,000. The popular crypto trading app experienced a crash fueled by overwhelming demand following Bitcoin’s surge past the $60,000 mark, marking a milestone not witnessed in two years.
Responding swiftly to alleviate concerns, Coinbase reassured its user base via a tweet, stating, «Our team is investigating this & will provide an update shortly. Your assets are safe».
Coinbase’s outage coincided with Bitcoin’s abrupt descent from its peak to approximately $58,000, although it has since rebounded to $62,300 at the time of reporting. While the crash cannot be solely attributed to Coinbase’s technical issues, it is believed to have exacerbated the intensity of the decline, coupled with a mass sell-off by leveraged traders.
According to Coindesk, data from Coinglass indicated that the rapid price drop triggered a total of $700 million in liquidations across all digital assets within 24 hours.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong communicated updates through X (formerly Twitter), confirming that the «apps are now recovering».
In an analysis penned for Forbes, Dave Birnbaum of rival exchange Coinbits.app criticized Armstrong’s platform for diverting attention towards «ephemeral» technologies like NFTs and DeFi, rather than strengthening BTC infrastructure.
Birnbaum contended that despite Bitcoin’s renowned volatility, its patterns were discernible, citing substantial investments in Bitcoin ETFs by heavyweights like Blackrock and Fidelity. He highlighted the stark demand-supply dynamics, emphasizing an impending scarcity due to Bitcoin’s halving.
Amidst these developments, most analysts anticipate Bitcoin’s ascent to persist, positioning it as a benchmark for other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and even meme coins, which have witnessed notable gains following the resurgence of confidence in Bitcoin.
