Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has issued an apology for the technical issues that led to delays and canceled transactions involving Solana (SOL), acknowledging that the platform’s infrastructure was unable to handle the increased demand. The issue left many users frustrated, unable to deposit or withdraw Solana tokens as expected.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on January 22, Armstrong assured users that the Solana backlog had been addressed and that transactions should now process more quickly. For those whose transactions were canceled, he encouraged them to retry, offering his apologies for the inconvenience.
“We have the Solana backlog triaged, and transactions should generate quickly again. If your transaction got canceled, you can retry it now – apologies for the trouble,” Armstrong wrote.
Pledge to Improve Solana Support
Armstrong admitted that Coinbase needs to do better in supporting Solana, recognizing that the platform’s infrastructure had not been adequately scaled to handle the surge in demand. He acknowledged that the exchange must enhance its systems to provide native support for use cases like decentralized exchange (DEX) and memecoin trading on Solana.
“It’s clear we need to step up our game on Solana, scale our infrastructure, and provide native support for common use cases like DEX/memecoin trading,” Armstrong said. He further assured that Solana would receive the same “tier 1” support that Coinbase offers for major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Base, though specific details were not provided.
Community Reaction and Skepticism
Despite Armstrong’s apology, many in the crypto community remain skeptical. One user, @PAGANDWOLF, pointed out that Coinbase has had years to address such issues, especially considering similar problems during past bull markets when trading volume spiked. This latest incident, which coincided with a surge in Solana’s activity, highlighted the platform’s ongoing struggle to manage high-demand periods.
While Armstrong acknowledged that the increased traffic was a positive sign for the Solana ecosystem, he conceded that Coinbase needed to do a better job of handling surges in demand. “The surge in activity is great for the ecosystem (and these are high-quality problems to have), but we need to do a better job serving our customers during periods of high demand,” he said.
A Call for Better Scalability
Coinbase’s infrastructure issues, especially during times of high traffic, have become a recurring concern for users. Armstrong’s pledge to scale infrastructure and improve support for Solana is an attempt to address these challenges, but the crypto community remains vigilant, hoping that the platform follows through on its promises in the face of increasing market activity.
