Coinbase customers are stunned to find accounts WIPED OUT: Boss says 'large surge in traffic' overwhelmed app

Horrified Coinbase users have shared their shock at discovering their accounts on the crypto trading app wiped out.

Stunned users took to the internet Wednesday to say their balances had been reduced to zero without warning. 

One X user called K.Rich wrote: 'Good to know everyone else's #Coinbase account is zero as well because I was about to cry in my car.

Abdullah Ghaffar said: 'Anyone else’s Coinbase account at zero?!? #Coinbase Where’s my crypto??'

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told Nasdaq that the outage came about after a 'large surge of traffic' that overwhelmed the platform. It is thought to be linked to Bitcoin surging to $63,000 per coin - close to its all time high.

Coinbase users reported their balances had been wiped Wednesday, triggering mass panic. The crypto trading app insisted the issue was just a glitch and that its customers money was safe 

Coinbase have sought to reassure users that their money is safe after an influx of users shared their experience on social media

Coinbase tweeted that the incident had happened due to a glitch and ensured users that their balances were safe.

Posting on X, a Coinbase rep wrote: 'We are aware that some users may see a zero balance across their Coinbase accounts & may experience errors in buying or selling. 

'Our team is investigating this & will provide an update shortly. Your assets are safe.'

Further details on what caused the glitch have yet to be shared and it's unclear whether users have had their balances restored. 

Coinbase is the United States' largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume and was created by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam in 2012.

It allows users to buy and sell reputable cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

Wednesday's drama has not had any negative impact on Coinbase's stock price. It sits at around $201-per-share at 1:30pm ET - up from Tuesday's closing price of $199.55-per-share. 

A Coinbase user shared a screengrab of what they claimed was their unexpectedly empty account after Wednesday's issue 

The drama came as Bitcoin surged to $63,000-per-Bitcoin - coming close to its all-time high of almost $69,000 in 2021. 

At about 12.30pm ET, the currency was trading at more than $63,000, its highest level in more than two years.

The latest rally gained steam after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January approved the trading of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

They track the value of the currency but can be readily traded on stock exchanges, opening up Bitcoin exposure to institutional investors and notably older Americans. 

Since that approval on January 11, the 11 ETFs on the market have attracted a net inflow of more than $5.2 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Bitcoin surpassed the $60,000 mark on Wednesday as the crypto approached its all-time high of $68,991

Philippe Bekhazi, CEO of crypto firm XBTO, said sustained investment in the ETFs would likely continue driving up its value.

'Looking ahead, we anticipate that the continued inflows into spot ETFs will maintain the upward momentum in BTC prices,' he said.

Bekhazi also noted that the upcoming 'halving' would also fuel the ongoing rally. In April, the rate at which Bitcoin can be mined and entered into circulation will be halved, reducing its supply.

'As we approach the BTC halving event, this trend is expected to persist, potentially leading to further appreciation,' he said.