Article Summary

**Major Cryptocurrency Exchanges Face Extended Downtime During AWS Cloud Service Disruption** Leading cryptocurrency trading platforms Coinbase and Robinhood experienced significant service interruptions Monday following a widespread Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage that lasted several hours. The cloud infrastructure failure prevented millions of crypto traders from accessing their Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoin portfolios during critical market hours. The AWS outage highlighted the cryptocurrency industry's heavy reliance on centralized cloud computing services, raising concerns about decentralized finance (DeFi) principles versus traditional infrastructure dependencies. Both exchanges, which collectively serve over 100 million users globally, faced mounting customer complaints as traders were unable to execute trades, monitor portfolio balances, or access blockchain-based assets. This incident underscores the vulnerability of major cryptocurrency exchanges to third-party service providers, potentially impacting Bitcoin price movements and overall market liquidity. The downtime affected not only spot trading but also cryptocurrency derivatives and institutional trading services. Industry experts suggest this event may accelerate adoption of truly decentralized trading platforms and emphasize the importance of redundant infrastructure systems for cryptocurrency exchanges moving forward.