Key Notes
- A sudden AWS outage caused widespread disruptions post 9 AM UTC across Binance, KuCoin, and at least eight other centralized exchanges and crypto service providers.
- Binance paused withdrawals, resuming them shortly afterward.
- The incident highlights the crypto sector’s reliance on centralized cloud services for critical infrastructure.
Major Exchanges & Service Providers Affected
On April 15, 2025, a power issue at an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center caused a major outage, disrupting several top crypto platforms. Binance and KuCoin, two of the world’s largest exchanges, had to pause withdrawals and trading briefly due to the network failure. Services began returning to normal within an hour once AWS fixed the issue.
Multiple platforms including Gate.io, Coinstore, DeBank, and Rabby Wallet also reported related technical issues such as order failures and transfer delays.
Why Crypto Exchanges Still Depend on Centralized Cloud
Although the crypto industry champions decentralization, most top exchanges, including Binance, KuCoin and Coinbase, rely on centralized cloud providers like AWS. That’s because AWS offers:
- High reliability and global reach for 24/7 uptime
- Low latency, essential for high-speed crypto trading
- Scalability to handle sudden volume surges
- Advanced security frameworks compliant with global regulations
Decentralized cloud alternatives exist, but they can’t yet match the scale, performance, and flexibility required by Tier-1 exchanges.
Not the First Time AWS Has Hit Crypto
This isn’t the first instance where AWS issues disrupted crypto operations. On December 7–8, 2021, a major AWS outage caused hours-long downtime for exchanges like Binance and Coinbase, highlighting the crypto industry’s reliance on centralized cloud infrastructure.
Conclusion: Services Restored, But Questions Linger
Both Binance and KuCoin confirmed that withdrawals and trading operations were back online. No user funds were compromised, and most systems have returned to normal.
Decentralization must evolve from ideal to infrastructure. PixelPlex, a blockchain development firm notes, until it outperforms current solutions, decentralized storage will remain a niche promising, but not yet ready for broad adoption.
