Coinbase promises infrastructure improvements to expedite Solana deposits and withdrawals
2025-01-21
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Crypto exchange giant Coinbase has sought to address concerns over significant delays in processing Solana transactions, with some users reporting wait times of several hours.
Multiple users have taken to X in recent days, reporting withdrawal delays from their Coinbase accounts to their Solana wallets of 10 hours or more, with many of those attempts ultimately failing. “Can't I just cancel it Coinbase? How can I get my money back it's been over 15 hours,” one user wrote.
It’s not just withdrawal transactions either, with reports that deposits made to Coinbase accounts from Solana wallets are also taking several hours to land. “Sent two transactions from a Solana wallet to Coinbase today. First took 6.5 hours to land. Second hasn't landed in 3 hours,” Mike Dudas, Managing Partner at 6th Man Ventures, said.
The ongoing issue has led some users to allege Coinbase has a conflict of interest as the Ethereum Layer 2 network Base it incubated is a competitor to Solana. “Coinbase says the future of crypto is onchain, but they clearly believe onchain = EVM despite Solana being the #1 chain by volume. Need to wake up asap,” Dudas wrote. Others also requested a Coinbase release proof of reserves for its Solana holdings amid the ongoing issue.
Some have blamed congestion on the Solana network amid the flurry of activity surrounding the President and First Lady’s TRUMP and MELANIA memecoin launches over the past few days. However, other major crypto exchanges seem to be completing transactions in minutes or less, and Coinbase’s processing times for the Solana blockchain appear to have been an ongoing issue for weeks. Onchain Solana transactions normally complete near instantly. “Solana is not so congested it takes over 12 hours to still not be able to send a transaction. [What] are you doing?” another user said.
‘Apologies for the trouble’
On Monday, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange is “working hard” to scale up amid the issue. “There is a lot of activity on Solana right now. Apologies for the trouble.”
Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana infrastructure developer Helius, emphasized that Coinbase’s processing delays had nothing to do with the Solana blockchain, offering to assist the exchange with the issue. “My guess is they just can't keep up with the tip of the chain because they generalize their indexing to all chains but don't account for how different all those chains are,” he said. “Yeah, it’s on us to improve,” Coinbase Senior Protocol Specialist Andrew Allen replied. “Not Solana’s fault. Solana usage has pushed our infra past its limits, and the team is well aware and actively working on it.”
“Your funds are safe and secure,” the crypto exchange’s support account then posted to X early Tuesday. “At Coinbase all customer assets are held 1:1, we have not run out of Solana.”
Coinbase explained that it had seen “unprecedented” Solana transaction activity, equivalent to more than 10 times normal operations, with its systems unable to validate and process transactions at the rate it is receiving them.
While the exchange said the delay had improved by 30% since yesterday, it warned that outgoing transactions may still take 24 hours to complete currently, with inbound transfers also experiencing an approximate six-hour delay. Coinbase expects to reduce the delay over the coming days and is working with the Solana Foundation on longer-term upgrades to its infrastructure to “provide a more reliable and lower latency experience.”
Coinbase has regularly faced challenges during periods of significant demand on its platform during bull markets, with outages or maintenance often triggered by sudden surges in activity. However, this latest incident appears to be specifically tied to its handling of Solana transactions, and Coinbase has yet to set out a timeframe for a resolution.
The Block reached out to Coinbase for further comment.
Disclaimer: Mike Dudas is the co-founder and former CEO of The Block. He no longer has a financial interest in The Block. 
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