Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange based in the United States, has experienced a complete system failure, making its services inaccessible to users on both desktop and mobile platforms. The outage was first reported on Coinbase’s official status page, stating that a major disruption occurred at 4:15 am UTC on May 14. As of now, attempting to visit the website displays a “503 Service Temporarily Unavailable” error message.
According to a developer guide on Mozilla, this error typically occurs when servers are undergoing maintenance or are overloaded. Coinbase Support’s official account also acknowledged the issue in a post on May 14, assuring users that they are actively investigating the problem and working towards a solution. They emphasized that users’ funds are secure and unaffected by the outage.
This isn’t the first time Coinbase has experienced such an outage. On February 28, the exchange, along with several others, faced temporary disruptions due to a sudden surge in cryptocurrency trading activity during a Bitcoin flash crash. The price of Bitcoin plummeted by nearly 10% before quickly recovering.
While these outages can be frustrating for users, some members of the crypto community view them as a positive sign for the industry. They argue that the increased traffic and extended downtime ultimately contribute to the growth of cryptocurrencies. Crypto trader Castillo Trading even made a lighthearted comment about the Coinbase outage, suggesting that it was a reason to celebrate.