Coinbase's Bugs Every Time the Bitcoin Price Rises Dramatically Are a Reminder.
Coinbase is the most widely used cryptocurrency exchange platform in America. And by far!
Whether you like Coinbase or not, Coinbase is a key player in the Bitcoin world.
When an American buys Bitcoin for the first time, he or she is likely to do so by creating an account on Coinbase.
Coinbase was founded by Brian Armstrong in June 2012 and has weathered all the storms that have sunk many of the major players in the cryptocurrency world at one time or another.
Coinbase is a publicly listed company, which obliges Coinbase to be more serious with regulators. Coinbase therefore has guarantees of seriousness that other exchanges don't have, rightly or wrongly. But that's how it's perceived by the general public.
Coinbase has further strengthened its position in the sector by joining forces with the majority of Wall Street giants who launched their Bitcoin Spot ETFs at the beginning of 2024. Coinbase secures over 90% of all Bitcoins held by these Wall Street giants. Only Fidelity has made the right choice, deciding to use its self-custody solution.
Coinbase can hardly be described as a small exchange without the means to match its ambitions.
Coinbase has what it takes to ensure continuity of service, enabling users to act as they wish even when euphoria grips the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets.
However, for years now, Coinbase has been experiencing major computer bugs every time the price of Bitcoin has risen spectacularly, interrupting the upward trend.
Each time, the same message from Coinbase explains that the platform is saturated due to the massive influx of users. Some even predict a Mt. Gox-style fate for Coinbase in the future. It seems hard to imagine, but who knows, Coinbase seems so overwhelmed by what's in store for Bitcoin in the future.
Lately, Coinbase has been giving users passing through its platform the cold sweats by suddenly displaying a portfolio at ZERO dollars.
Coinbase apologizes every time, and the general public who uses Coinbase seems reassured without even learning the lesson it represents.
Yet it seems to me that the lesson is obvious:
If you keep your Bitcoin on Coinbase or any other exchange platform, you own nothing. Your balance is really at ZERO.
You trust a third party like Coinbase to secure the fruits of your labor, but at any moment Coinbase can tell you that the platform has been hacked and you have nothing.
You're at ZERO.
So how can you be sure of how much BTC you have? It's obvious: take possession of your Bitcoin's private keys by withdrawing your Bitcoin from Coinbase and other exchange platforms.
Bitcoin is a long-term revolution. You have no interest in letting a third party secure your Bitcoin. Take possession of your Bitcoin, and you'll never again have that feeling of dread when you see a scale reading ZERO on Coinbase or elsewhere.
Bitcoin gives you everything you need to take complete power, but you have to make the effort to take that power. The first step is to secure the fruits of your labor yourself.
This famous meme will help you remember: Not your Keys, Not your Bitcoin.