A Major Outage at Coinbase Sparks Speculation
The renowned cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase encountered a significant outage recently, prompting a temporary decline in the value of Bitcoin. This occurrence reignited discussions around the possibility of a Bitcoin bull run, drawing comparisons to previous instances where similar crashes on Coinbase preceded substantial surges in Bitcoin’s valuation.
During a brief window between 12:15 PM ET and 12:30 PM ET on the day of the outage, Bitcoin’s price plummeted from $64,000 to $58,200, marking a notable 10% fluctuation within a mere 15-minute time frame. Coinciding with this volatility, numerous Coinbase users reported observing $0 balances in their accounts.
Despite the momentary disruption caused by the outage, Coinbase has moved to reassure its user base regarding the safety of their assets. In a tweet, the company stated, “We are aware that some users may see a zero balance across their Coinbase accounts & may experience errors in buying or selling. Our team is investigating this & will provide an update shortly. Your assets are safe.”
Market Response and Speculation Post-Outage
Prior to the crash, Bitcoin’s value and trading volume demonstrated an upward trend, reminiscent of patterns observed in 2021 when the cryptocurrency achieved record price points. The trading volume for Bitcoin surged by 20%, peaking at $66.4 billion and briefly reaching $64,000 before the Coinbase interruption, positioning itself within 10% of the all-time high of $69,045 reached in November 2021.
The sudden price drop linked to the Coinbase outage seemed to have spurred an unexpected reaction in market sentiment. Many investors interpreted this event as a potential precursor to an impending Bitcoin bull run preceding the halving event. The market’s optimism remained unshaken by the outage, with some experts estimating that nearly $100 billion of Bitcoin’s market capitalization vanished in a matter of minutes.
“Coinbase crash literally happened like once a month last bull. This is your entry, not your exit.” – crypto trader @hash_cough