Coinbase Acknowledges Impact of AWS Outage on Services
Coinbase confirmed that the recent outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS) affected its platform. “Many online services, including Coinbase, experienced issues,” a spokesperson told Fortune. While Coinbase services have since recovered, some older asset transfer requests remain pending and are currently under investigation.
Similarly, Robinhood also reported service disruptions due to the AWS outage. In a post on X, the company stated, “Services are impacted due to issues at AWS, one of our third party vendors. We’re working to resolve this ASAP.” Robinhood, which generates a significant portion of its revenue from cryptocurrency trading, has yet to clarify which specific services remain affected. Spokespersons for both Robinhood and AWS did not provide further comments when contacted.
Thousands of users reported difficulties accessing Coinbase and Robinhood on Monday, according to outage tracking website Downdetector. This incident underscores the ongoing reliance of parts of the cryptocurrency industry on centralized cloud providers like Amazon, despite efforts to build a decentralized internet.
The Vision of a Decentralized Internet
Crypto developers have long aimed to create a decentralized internet that does not depend on any single party, echoing the spirit of Bitcoin—the pioneering blockchain created by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. However, Monday’s AWS outage highlights how many crypto services still rely heavily on established tech giants.
Although there have been attempts to develop decentralized cloud computing platforms such as Arweave to challenge centralized incumbents, these alternatives have yet to gain widespread adoption.
Cloud Computing Downtime and Crypto Exchanges
This is not the first time AWS service disruptions have impacted cryptocurrency platforms. In April, similar AWS malfunctions briefly affected major exchanges Binance and Kucoin. During that outage, Binance temporarily paused customer withdrawals to mitigate risks.
As of Monday, AWS reported that services from its Virginia data center were still “degraded” but noted “early signs of recovery” in its ongoing status updates.
The incident serves as a reminder of the vulnerabilities cryptocurrency platforms face when they depend on centralized cloud services, even as the industry pushes toward decentralization.
https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/10/20/coinbase-robinhood-aws-outage-snapchat-hulu-crypto-services/