Coinbase Faces 86 Glitches in 3 Months, Users Report Missing Crypto Balances

Coinbase acknowledged a technical issue on the Base network that left some users confused about missing balances and inaccurate asset...

Quick overview

  • Coinbase acknowledged a technical issue on the Base network that caused confusion over missing balances and inaccurate asset prices.
  • Delays in CAD deposits via EFT on the mobile app were identified as the cause of the problems, but user funds remained secure.
  • The Base Network experienced degraded performance, leading to access challenges for users in certain regions.
  • Coinbase has faced 86 incidents in the past three months, highlighting ongoing challenges with outages and technical issues.

Coinbase acknowledged a technical issue on the Base network that left some users confused about missing balances and inaccurate asset prices. They promptly confirmed the issue on x (formerly Twitter) and reassured users that their funds remained safe.

After poking around a bit to figure out what had gone wrong, Coinbase discovered that delays in CAD deposits via EFT on their mobile app were the culprit – and it all came down to some pretty cruddy network lag. They said they’d keep an eye on things and give users some level-headed updates as the situation started to sort itself out.

Key points to bear in mind:

  • Users reported some pretty weird issues with their balances and price quotes.
  • CAD deposits initiated via mobile EFT experienced significant delays in clearing.
  • Coinbase reassured users that their funds remained secure.

Frequent Outages and Access Challenges

It turned out that the status page showed that regions like the Philippines were having a really tough time getting online during this particular incident. Users with more resourceful internet connections (Wi-Fi, international networks, etc.) were able to get around the problem fairly easily.

The root cause of the issue, it turned out, was “Degraded performance on the Base Network”, but that’s since been sorted out. And Coinbase has a bit of a habit of having outages – in fact, here are a few of the latest ones:

  • Jan 20: The Ronin network was experiencing some delays, but buying, selling, and fiat deposits were mostly unaffected.
  • On January 19, the Polygon network experienced notable latency, but core transactions proceeded as expected.

Since the start of the year, Coinbase has had a pretty dismal record – 86 incidents over the past 3 months, with 17 of ’em happening in January. And there are 2 more maintenance items coming up.

AWS Outages and System Failures

And of course, Coinbase isn’t immune to external outages either – like that time the AWS US-East-1 region went down last year. This one came in two waves of chaos – at 3am and then again at 11am. Users were pretty miffed by the trading disruptions and delayed transactions that lasted over 3 hours.

The good news was that Coinbase was able to resolve the problem by around 6:45pm, once AWS had its systems back up.

In February 2024, another technical issue resulted in temporary zero balances for some users. Coinbase continues to receive user complaints, with over 11,000 filings with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the FTC since 2016, primarily related to customer service and technical issues.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More
Arslan Butt
Lead Markets Analyst – Multi-Asset (FX, Commodities, Crypto)
Arslan Butt serves as the Lead Commodities and Indices Analyst, bringing a wealth of expertise to the field. With an MBA in Behavioral Finance and active progress towards a Ph.D., Arslan possesses a deep understanding of market dynamics. His professional journey includes a significant role as a senior analyst at a leading brokerage firm, complementing his extensive experience as a market analyst and day trader. Adept in educating others, Arslan has a commendable track record as an instructor and public speaker. His incisive analyses, particularly within the realms of cryptocurrency and forex markets, are showcased across esteemed financial publications such as ForexCrunch, InsideBitcoins, and EconomyWatch, solidifying his reputation in the financial community.

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