Coinbase says it’s investigating zero-balance issue amid $64k price pump

Coinbase is investigating reports that some users are seeing zeroed-out balances on their exchange accounts, a development that comes as bitcoin nears all-time price highs. 

Amid a jump in price above $64,000, users took to X to air concerns about their accounts showing zero funds. 

The crypto exchange has said, despite the service errors, “assets are safe.”

“We are aware that some users may see a zero balance across their Coinbase accounts and may experience errors in buying or selling. Our team is investigating this issue and will provide an update shortly. Your assets are safe,” Coinbase said in a statement. 

The cause of the issue is not immediately clear, as users are still able to access certain features on the exchange.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange is dealing with a “LARGE surge of traffic — apologies for any issues you encounter.”

The issues surfaced as bitcoin (BTC) jumped to highs not seen since November 2021, topping $64,000 before diving to $59,000. Ether (ETH) jumped to nearly $3,500 before settling around $3,300.

Read more: Bitcoin jumps above $60k for first time in 27 months 

Bitcoin ETFs have also seen a strong day of trading, with volumes of over $2.6 billion, according to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. 

Coinbase didn’t immediately return a request for comment to expand on the issue and when it may be resolved.

The exchange has previously suffered service issues during sharp market upturns, prompting a fresh round of criticism and mockery about the US exchange giant.

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart added that the balance error is “THE sign of the bull.”

At around 2:30 pm ET, Coinbase Support said they were “beginning to see improvement in customer trading.”

Armstrong, roughly forty minutes after that, said the apps were recovering. 

“We had modeled a ~10x surge in traffic and load tested it. This exceeded that number,” he further explained.

Updated Feb. 28, 2024 at 3:35 PM: Added notes from Coinbase Support and Brian Armstrong about app recovery.

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