Coinbase Addresses Solana Transaction Delays

Coinbase has responded to concerns regarding significant delays in processing Solana transactions, with some users experiencing wait times of several hours.

User Complaints

Multiple users have reported withdrawal delays from their Coinbase accounts to their Solana wallets lasting over 10 hours, with many withdrawals ultimately failing. One user lamented, “Can’t I just cancel it Coinbase? How can I get my money back it’s been over 15 hours.”

Withdrawals are not the only issue; deposits from Solana wallets into Coinbase accounts are also facing substantial delays. “Sent two transactions from a Solana wallet to Coinbase today. First took 6.5 hours to land. Second hasn’t landed in 3 hours,” said Mike Dudas, Managing Partner at 6th Man Ventures.

The situation prompted allegations of a conflict of interest, as some believe Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 network, Base, competes with 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 stated. Concerns over Coinbase’s Solana reserves have also been raised.

Network Congestion

Some users speculated that the congestion on the Solana network, stemming from the TRUMP and MELANIA memecoin launches, may have contributed to the delays. However, other exchanges appear to be completing transactions in minutes, while Coinbase has faced ongoing Solana transaction issues for weeks. “What are you doing? Solana is not so congested it takes over 12 hours to still not be able to send a transaction,” one frustrated user wrote.

Apologies from Coinbase

On Monday, CEO Brian Armstrong acknowledged the situation, stating the exchange is “working hard” to scale amid the surge of Solana activity. “Apologies for the trouble.”

Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana infrastructure developer Helius, indicated that the delays stemmed from Coinbase’s inability to handle the transaction volume rather than issues with the Solana blockchain itself. These sentiments were echoed by Coinbase’s Senior Protocol Specialist Andrew Allen, who confirmed, “Yeah, it’s on us to improve.”

Coinbase reassured users that their funds are “safe and secure,” and all customer assets are held 1:1. They attributed the backlog to “unprecedented” Solana transaction activity, noting it was ten times more than usual, which strained their processing systems.

While the exchange reported a 30% improvement in delays, with outbound transactions potentially still taking up to 24 hours and inbound transfers about six hours, they are making efforts to reduce these delays. Collaborating with the Solana Foundation, Coinbase plans long-term infrastructure upgrades to enhance reliability and reduce latency.

During previous bull market surges, Coinbase has frequently faced challenges, including outages and maintenance, but this specific incident relates primarily to Solana transactions.