Coinbase can't keep up with demand

[NorbyTheGeek]

I logged into Coinbase today, and got this message:

Note! We've exceeded our normal buy limits for today. If you would still like to purchase you will receive the market price of bitcoin on Friday Nov 22, 2013 at 10:18AM CST after your funds have arrived.

Due to higher than normal buy volumes, we are unable to provide exact price quotes right now.

Instead of pausing buys entirely, we decided to give people the option to purchase bitcoin at the market price in a few days. Once your USD funds arrive, we will exchange them to bitcoin at the market price at approximately Friday Nov 22, 2013 at 10:18AM CST.

Note that you can cancel your order at any time up until your bitcoin arrive from the transfer history page.

The market price of bitcoin changes frequently. Below are some recent prices to give you an idea. These do not guarantee what the price will be in a few days.

[1715077127]

1715077127

[BitchicksHusband]

And yesterday during the crash, they couldn't log me in because THEY were too slow.

Now, they are locking ME out for 24 hours because of "Too many invalid login attempts."

Not my fault, idiots!  Your site couldn't keep up so I am locked out?!?  And isn't 24 hours a wee bit excessive for this?

[Rygon]

It's hard to even figure out if the price is reasonable on coinbase. Btcchina has consistently been at least $100-$200 higher when converting from CNY to USD. Looks like right now coinbase is tracking Btc-e price instead of bitstamps.

[501]

I went to Coinbase to buy this morning and got the same message except without a date and time.  So now not only are they asking me to send money and receive bitcoin at whatever their market price is, they are asking me to wait until whenever they get around to it.

So they expect us to send money to them so they can play the market with our money and then decide when and at what price to settle with us in bitcoin?

Who in their right mind would agree to these terms?

I just went from recommending Coinbase to people to telling people to stay away.

The message always gives you a date that is exactly 4 business days after the current date/time. So now when you want to buy on Coinbase, you not only have to wait a few days for the money to go through, you also have to pay whatever price they decide you have to pay rather than locking in a price.

This basically makes Coinbase useless as this point. I signed up on Bitstamp and am going to start using them instead.

Things like this make me more nervous about bitcoin's future. People have money in hand and are ready to buy, but they're being sent away and forced to follow all of these complicated protocols. So they're just going to think it's a sham and never come back to bitcoin again, so we're going to lose a lot of traction and potential growth.

[NorbyTheGeek]

Things like this make me more nervous about bitcoin's future. People have money in hand and are ready to buy, but they're being sent away and forced to follow all of these complicated protocols. So they're just going to think it's a sham and never come back to bitcoin again, so we're going to lose a lot of traction and potential growth.

It's a pain, but I don't think it's cause for panic.  Seems more like growing pains.

I'm a relative newbie, but didn't MtGox crash under the demand a few months back?  I think things like this are going to happen as Bitcoin becomes more visible to the general public.

[BitChick]

I went to Coinbase to buy this morning and got the same message except without a date and time.  So now not only are they asking me to send money and receive bitcoin at whatever their market price is, they are asking me to wait until whenever they get around to it.

So they expect us to send money to them so they can play the market with our money and then decide when and at what price to settle with us in bitcoin?

Who in their right mind would agree to these terms?

I just went from recommending Coinbase to people to telling people to stay away.

The message always gives you a date that is exactly 4 business days after the current date/time. So now when you want to buy on Coinbase, you not only have to wait a few days for the money to go through, you also have to pay whatever price they decide you have to pay rather than locking in a price.

This basically makes Coinbase useless as this point. I signed up on Bitstamp and am going to start using them instead.

Things like this make me more nervous about bitcoin's future. People have money in hand and are ready to buy, but they're being sent away and forced to follow all of these complicated protocols. So they're just going to think it's a sham and never come back to bitcoin again, so we're going to lose a lot of traction and potential growth.

I have a friend that just signed up last week and is now struggling to get more then the few coins she started with.  She really wants more but now is unable to buy any.  Sigh.  I was hoping that Coinbase was going to solve some problems in the Bitcoin world and make it easier to buy in a safe and secure environment for newbies.

And hubby and I were hoping to pick up a few more now that the price dropped after the big run but we are locked out unless we agree to buy at some random market price in 5 days.  That is so crazy.  I am not even sure how they can do that legally? 

Hopefully Coinbase reads this and realizes that they are shooting themselves in the foot by things like this.

We signed up with CampBX today.  They will be allowing direct deposits in the US starting next week.

[joeventura]

And yesterday during the crash, they couldn't log me in because THEY were too slow.

Now, they are locking ME out for 24 hours because of "Too many invalid login attempts."

Not my fault, idiots!  Your site couldn't keep up so I am locked out?!?  And isn't 24 hours a wee bit excessive for this?

They did the same to me, this is like being locked out of my bank account, sounds like time to call attorney.

This issue was caused because of their systems inability to provide validation services, they are blaming it on their vendor "Authy" but the buck stops with Coinbase.

[joeventura]

Signing up for CampBX too,
this is crazy.

[tvbcof]

...
This basically makes Coinbase useless as this point. I signed up on Bitstamp and am going to start using them instead.
...

I might do the same except that my identity docs are important to me.  Also, I'm in sell mode and it's more often than not kind of a shitty place to sell these days.  Though to be fair, Coinbase has had disappointing prices in this respect as well.

I'm disappointed but not at all surprised that Coinbase has had difficulty dealing with the volatility.  There is a giant amount of money to be made or lost in such times.  A mis-step could drive almost any outfit into insolvency, and particularly the rather poorly capitalized Bitcoin start-ups.

[FullLife]

Of course they are having supply issues.  There are a lot more buyers than sellers right now.

[tvbcof]

Of course they are having supply issues.  There are a lot more buyers than sellers right now.

I'm a little surprised that I don't get a better price for my sales in this case.  I am actually holding off on a sale I would have made last night since I hope that the price starts to float up toward BTCChina valuations.

As usually with these outfits, it would be really interesting to see what's going on under the kimono.  We'll just have to theorize I guess.

[justusranvier]

This happens every time there's a sudden increase in demand.

Their capacity will continue grow over time, and hopefully CampBX will be able to pick up some of the slack.

[Rygon]

Of course they are having supply issues.  There are a lot more buyers than sellers right now.

I'm a little surprised that I don't get a better price for my sales in this case.  I am actually holding off on a sale I would have made last night since I hope that the price starts to float up toward BTCChina valuations.

As usually with these outfits, it would be really interesting to see what's going on under the kimono.  We'll just have to theorize I guess.

+1

I don't understand why they can't let their prices float upward faster in order to bring in sellers and fill buy orders. They should have been prepared to adapt to a rapid price increase since the market made the same kind of move just 6 months ago.

[SgtSpike]

I went to Coinbase to buy this morning and got the same message except without a date and time.  So now not only are they asking me to send money and receive bitcoin at whatever their market price is, they are asking me to wait until whenever they get around to it.

So they expect us to send money to them so they can play the market with our money and then decide when and at what price to settle with us in bitcoin?

Who in their right mind would agree to these terms?

I just went from recommending Coinbase to people to telling people to stay away.

The message always gives you a date that is exactly 4 business days after the current date/time. So now when you want to buy on Coinbase, you not only have to wait a few days for the money to go through, you also have to pay whatever price they decide you have to pay rather than locking in a price.

This basically makes Coinbase useless as this point. I signed up on Bitstamp and am going to start using them instead.

Things like this make me more nervous about bitcoin's future. People have money in hand and are ready to buy, but they're being sent away and forced to follow all of these complicated protocols. So they're just going to think it's a sham and never come back to bitcoin again, so we're going to lose a lot of traction and potential growth.

I have a friend that just signed up last week and is now struggling to get more then the few coins she started with.  She really wants more but now is unable to buy any.  Sigh.  I was hoping that Coinbase was going to solve some problems in the Bitcoin world and make it easier to buy in a safe and secure environment for newbies.

And hubby and I were hoping to pick up a few more now that the price dropped after the big run but we are locked out unless we agree to buy at some random market price in 5 days.  That is so crazy.  I am not even sure how they can do that legally? 

Hopefully Coinbase reads this and realizes that they are shooting themselves in the foot by things like this.

We signed up with CampBX today.  They will be allowing direct deposits in the US starting next week.

They can offer to sell or not sell however they like and be perfectly within the law.

Coinbase is still THE place for newbies, IMO.  They are just having supply issues is all, and once demand dies down again, people will be able to freely buy and sell.  I agree that it would be beneficial for them to raise the price in accordance with demand though.

[ajw7989]

I would imagine the amount of demand for bitcoins over the past 2 days were crazy. a lot of the well known exchanges were experiencing problems as well and coinbase is much newer. I do not blame coinbase for preventing people from buying just wish it was not until monday :/. I could understand closing it for a day or so but 5+ days is crazy

[AndrewWilliams]

You all better hurry up signing for the alternatives like Camp bx and Bitstamp. Their verification process is lengthy. 

[BitChick]

I went to Coinbase to buy this morning and got the same message except without a date and time.  So now not only are they asking me to send money and receive bitcoin at whatever their market price is, they are asking me to wait until whenever they get around to it.

So they expect us to send money to them so they can play the market with our money and then decide when and at what price to settle with us in bitcoin?

Who in their right mind would agree to these terms?

I just went from recommending Coinbase to people to telling people to stay away.

The message always gives you a date that is exactly 4 business days after the current date/time. So now when you want to buy on Coinbase, you not only have to wait a few days for the money to go through, you also have to pay whatever price they decide you have to pay rather than locking in a price.

This basically makes Coinbase useless as this point. I signed up on Bitstamp and am going to start using them instead.

Things like this make me more nervous about bitcoin's future. People have money in hand and are ready to buy, but they're being sent away and forced to follow all of these complicated protocols. So they're just going to think it's a sham and never come back to bitcoin again, so we're going to lose a lot of traction and potential growth.

I have a friend that just signed up last week and is now struggling to get more then the few coins she started with.  She really wants more but now is unable to buy any.  Sigh.  I was hoping that Coinbase was going to solve some problems in the Bitcoin world and make it easier to buy in a safe and secure environment for newbies.

And hubby and I were hoping to pick up a few more now that the price dropped after the big run but we are locked out unless we agree to buy at some random market price in 5 days.  That is so crazy.  I am not even sure how they can do that legally? 

Hopefully Coinbase reads this and realizes that they are shooting themselves in the foot by things like this.

We signed up with CampBX today.  They will be allowing direct deposits in the US starting next week.

They can offer to sell or not sell however they like and be perfectly within the law.

Coinbase is still THE place for newbies, IMO.  They are just having supply issues is all, and once demand dies down again, people will be able to freely buy and sell.  I agree that it would be beneficial for them to raise the price in accordance with demand though.

I was just curious how a company could have some agree to pay a price for an item that will be whatever "market" price in the future.  Couldn't Coinbase just pad that price or just choose the best time of day to select the market price that they want to sell at?  That puts us as a buyer at a disadvantage.  We would just be at the mercy of Coinbase deciding what to do with our money and they could manipulate it however they want.  I would never agree to that and I am surprised that it is even an option.  I would be more understanding if they just said to come back later because they were out of coins.

[AndrewWilliams]

Yes.
I'm not surprised if Coinbase just deducts the highest BTC price in the 5 day range just to pocket money.

[SgtSpike]

I went to Coinbase to buy this morning and got the same message except without a date and time.  So now not only are they asking me to send money and receive bitcoin at whatever their market price is, they are asking me to wait until whenever they get around to it.

So they expect us to send money to them so they can play the market with our money and then decide when and at what price to settle with us in bitcoin?

Who in their right mind would agree to these terms?

I just went from recommending Coinbase to people to telling people to stay away.

The message always gives you a date that is exactly 4 business days after the current date/time. So now when you want to buy on Coinbase, you not only have to wait a few days for the money to go through, you also have to pay whatever price they decide you have to pay rather than locking in a price.

This basically makes Coinbase useless as this point. I signed up on Bitstamp and am going to start using them instead.

Things like this make me more nervous about bitcoin's future. People have money in hand and are ready to buy, but they're being sent away and forced to follow all of these complicated protocols. So they're just going to think it's a sham and never come back to bitcoin again, so we're going to lose a lot of traction and potential growth.

I have a friend that just signed up last week and is now struggling to get more then the few coins she started with.  She really wants more but now is unable to buy any.  Sigh.  I was hoping that Coinbase was going to solve some problems in the Bitcoin world and make it easier to buy in a safe and secure environment for newbies.

And hubby and I were hoping to pick up a few more now that the price dropped after the big run but we are locked out unless we agree to buy at some random market price in 5 days.  That is so crazy.  I am not even sure how they can do that legally? 

Hopefully Coinbase reads this and realizes that they are shooting themselves in the foot by things like this.

We signed up with CampBX today.  They will be allowing direct deposits in the US starting next week.

They can offer to sell or not sell however they like and be perfectly within the law.

Coinbase is still THE place for newbies, IMO.  They are just having supply issues is all, and once demand dies down again, people will be able to freely buy and sell.  I agree that it would be beneficial for them to raise the price in accordance with demand though.

I was just curious how a company could have some agree to pay a price for an item that will be whatever "market" price in the future.  Couldn't Coinbase just pad that price or just choose the best time of day to select the market price that they want to sell at?  That puts us as a buyer at a disadvantage.  We would just be at the mercy of Coinbase deciding what to do with our money and they could manipulate it however they want.  I would never agree to that and I am surprised that it is even an option.  I would be more understanding if they just said to come back later because they were out of coins.

Well, if you don't want to be at the mercy of Coinbase, there's an easy solution:  Wait until they have instant buys again.

I agree that it would be stupid to agree to that option, unless you are closely watching the price and are ready to cancel your order if something goes awry, but I am glad to see that they at least have an option for people who are wanting to get in regardless of the price, rather than simply shutting everyone out until Friday.

[MPOE-PR]

I logged into Coinbase today, and got this message:

Note! We've exceeded our normal buy limits for today. If you would still like to purchase you will receive the market price of bitcoin on Friday Nov 22, 2013 at 10:18AM CST after your funds have arrived.

Due to higher than normal buy volumes, we are unable to provide exact price quotes right now.

Instead of pausing buys entirely, we decided to give people the option to purchase bitcoin at the market price in a few days. Once your USD funds arrive, we will exchange them to bitcoin at the market price at approximately Friday Nov 22, 2013 at 10:18AM CST.

Note that you can cancel your order at any time up until your bitcoin arrive from the transfer history page.

The market price of bitcoin changes frequently. Below are some recent prices to give you an idea. These do not guarantee what the price will be in a few days.

Sucks. Expect a whole lot more of this, just as you could've expected it since February:

If coinbase is not classified as a scam it's purely for semantic reasons. Functionally they're as shady as it gets.

This is what happens with the Ycombinator crowd.