Coinbase Global (COIN) said Wednesday that its website was back online after it went down earlier in the day amid a convertible-note pricing and a sharp drop in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Shares of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. at last check were down 5.5% to $225.82.
The company said Wednesday morning that it was “seeing some issues on Coinbase and Coinbase Pro.”
“We’ve put a fix in place to resolve the issue and users shouldn’t have any more trouble logging into Coinbase and Coinbase Pro,” the company said in a follow-up e-mail.
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The news came after Coinbase announced the pricing of $1.25 billion of 0.5% convertible senior notes due 2026.
Meantime, Twitter users weighed in on the Coinbase situation. #cryptotrading was trending on the Twitter site.
“Coinbase goes down in the middle of the biggest crypto sale ever,” one Twitter user said Wednesday.
“I saw that,” another responder. “They aren’t the only one.”
“I’m trying to give you more money,” another tweeted. “Let me buy!”
“Same here in NY,” another tweet said. “F–king ridiculous.”
Bitcoin fell following a warning from the People’s Bank of China over the use of virtual currencies in the world’s second-largest economy.
The PBOC said that China-based financial and payment institutions are not allowed to price products in any digital currency and are banned from any digital token issuance.
China has banned crypto exchanges and initial coin offerings but has not barred individuals from holding cryptocurrencies, Reuters reported.
In a post on the PBOC’s official WeChat account, the central bank said digital currencies should not be used in either financial markets or the real economy as money, given that they are not “real currencies”.
The PBOC has been developing its own state-backed digital currency system, known as DCEP or Digital Currency Electronic Payment, for a number of months. Officials aim to use it to replace paper and coins in the world’s second-largest economy.
As for Coinbase’s offering, the notes are designated for institutional buyers. Purchasers have an option on $187 million more of the notes if demand for the offering requires.
The San Francisco company expects proceeds of $1.22 billion after the costs of the offering, or $1.4 billion if the buyers exercise the option in full.