Binance and KuCoin suspended withdrawals temporarily on Tuesday due to a disruption at Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing firm.
The outage, caused by a network interruption at an AWS data centre, also impacted other crypto platforms, including wallet provider Rabby and analytics tool DeBank.
Service interruptions and user frustrations
Binance acknowledged the disruption in a post on X, stating, “We are aware of an issue impacting some services on the #Binance platform due to a temporary network interruption in the AWS data center.”
The crypto exchange advised users to retry failed transactions, as some orders were pending due to the service disruptions.
In a similar statement, KuCoin confirmed the outage, assuring users that backend engineers were working to fix the glitch and that all digital assets were secure.
“Rest assured that your assets remain secure and all data is intact,” the crypto exchange platform said in a brief statement posted on their official X account.
Withdrawals on Binance have since resumed, but some of the users are still having a hard time executing trades.
KuCoin has not provided further updates on the service disruption.
AWS later confirmed the issue was resolved, stating, “We are seeing initial signs of recovery but continue to monitor and work toward full recovery.”
However, the outage reignited debates over crypto platforms’ reliance on centralised cloud providers. Auki Network co-founder Santeri Aramo stated, “Centralised fragility on full display… This is exactly why we build decentralized infrastructure.”
Blockchain expert Austin Campbell added, “People complain about stablecoins being centralized while an AWS outage would take all of DeFi down.”
The incident highlights the vulnerabilities of centralised infrastructure in the crypto space, raising questions about the industry’s path toward true decentralisation.
About Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services (AWS) stands as a comprehensive cloud computing platform that delivers a vast suite of on-demand services. The platform empowers users with tools for computing, storage, databases, and more to facilitate the building and management of applications in the cloud.
Furthermore, it supports various cloud models, offering scalability and flexibility to adapt to changing demands. Its extensive features include a pay-as-you-go pricing model and a global network of data centres to ensure high availability and low latency.
The company also focuses on security to continually innovate and introduce services like serverless computing and machine learning, aiming to serve a user base from startups to large enterprises globally.