- A major AWS outage disrupted 12 services, halting withdrawals and trading on eight crypto platforms, including Binance and KuCoin, for over an hour.
- The incident highlighted crypto’s reliance on centralized cloud infrastructure, sparking calls for decentralized alternatives to prevent future single-point failures.
Early on April 15, a massive technical disruption struck Amazon Web Services (AWS), knocking out at least 12 services and throwing a wrench into the operations of eight major crypto platforms. Centralized exchanges like Binance and KuCoin were among those hit hard. The incident forced a halt in withdrawals and caused long delays for thousands of users trying to trade or move their assets.
We are aware of an issue impacting some services on the #Binance platform due to a temporary network interruption in the AWS data center.
Some orders are still successful, but some are failing. If users failed, they may keep retrying.Our team is working closely with AWS to…
— Binance (@binance) April 15, 2025
According to AWS, the outage ran from 12:40 A.M. to 1:43 A.M. PDT and stemmed from power interruptions at both its main and backup systems. As the issues unfolded, users reported failed connections and delayed responses tied to affected EC2 instances. At the same time, other AWS services remained unstable, with Amazon’s relational database service lagging behind in recovery.
KuCoin, Binance, and MEXC scrambled to explain what was going on as users vented frustration across social media. Binance admitted that some functions would continue running slowly while systems recovered but reassured users that withdrawals had resumed. AWS said in a real-time update:
We are seeing initial signs of recovery but continue to monitor and work toward full recovery. Other AWS services are also impacted by this issue, and are also observing recovery. We will provide another update within the next 30-60 minutes,
AWS Outage Hits 8 Crypto Platforms
The damage didn’t stop with the big three exchanges. Coinstore, Gate.io, and DeBank all reported similar outages, signaling just how widespread the AWS dependency runs in the crypto world. DeBank and Rabby Wallet users were also locked out during the disruption. These platforms tried to calm concerns, confirming that no assets were compromised and that restoration efforts were in motion.
Our service is temporarily unavailable due to an AWS outage.
We’re actively monitoring the situation and will restore access as soon as possible.
Please rest assured—your addresses and assets are safe and unaffected. https://t.co/zsa9ug6MF3
— Rabby Wallet (@Rabby_io) April 15, 2025
MEXC’s problems were particularly glaring. Some users noticed bizarre candlestick chart behavior, failed order cancellations, and delays in transferring funds. While Futures trading stayed untouched, the platform acknowledged the mess and promised to introduce a compensation plan for users who took losses due to the chaos. Their customer support was also impacted, slowing down communication in real-time.
Meanwhile, Binance reported that it was working closely with AWS to fix the issues quickly. By mid-morning, most features were operational again, but users still complained about sluggish performance. Posts on X continued pouring in, revealing that the recovery wasn’t quite smooth sailing for everyone.
Centralization Poses Serious Risk, Industry Warned
This single incident painted a loud and clear picture of how dependent crypto platforms have become on centralized cloud infrastructure. AWS is no small player — it holds a leading share of the global cloud market and powers giants like Coinbase, BitMEX, Kraken, Crypto.com, and Huobi. All these platforms run vital operations on AWS, which makes any downtime an industry-wide concern.
Bitget’s CEO, Gracy Chen, didn’t hold back in calling this a wake-up call. She emphasized the need for decentralized cloud alternatives, arguing that the current model goes against the very idea of decentralized finance. The impact of AWS going dark echoed across the crypto community, reminding everyone how quickly a single point of failure can ripple across millions of users.
By the time AWS issued its final assurance that the issue was resolved and wouldn’t recur, much of the crypto world had already taken note. While services eventually resumed, the event left scars that sparked conversations about infrastructure choices moving forward.
