Cardano (ADA) Holders Currently Can’t Send or Receive Crypto on Coinbase

Image source: Getty Images

Buying and selling of Cardano seems to work fine on Coinbase at time of writing.


Key points

  • Since Friday, Coinbase users who hold the cryptocurrency Cardano (ADA) have been unable to send or receive the digital asset from the platform.
  • While buying and selling of the crypto is still functioning, transfers to and from the crypto trading exchange are disabled.
  • No official word from Coinbase as to the cause for the isolated funds transfer outage or estimated time of service restoration.

Reddit forums have been chattering over the weekend that Coinbase holders of Cardano (ADA) are unable to send or receive that specific crypto to or from any digital wallets. When I personally tried to send that specific cryptocurrency to another of my digital wallets this morning, a pop-up notification appeared that stated Cardano “send/receive” functions have been temporarily disabled. However, a separate sale and purchase of Cardano I executed this morning on Coinbase went off without a hitch.

Centralized crypto exchanges — such as Coinbase — typically provide a handful of services to users including crypto storage or custody, staking of crypto to earn interest, buying and selling crypto, and seamlessly enabling the transfer of funds into and out of e-wallets. The ability to send and receive digital assets from digital wallet to wallet is a major benefit for crypto holders, while the hindrance of this service can be a major headache for users who can’t gain immediate access to their funds.

Cardano transfer outage on Coinbase

The funds transfer outage for Cardano has been in place since Friday. There’s been no official word from Coinbase as to why this issue is isolated to ADA nor any estimated timeline provided for restoration of service. This is the message users see when they sign up to get updates on the outage:

“Sends/receives are currently disabled for Cardano (ADA). While we work on a fix, your funds remain secure on Coinbase. You’ll receive email notifications when incidents are updated, and text message notifications whenever Coinbase creates or resolves an incident.”

One possible explanation for the Cardano-focused outage came from a Redditor called “Hyrootpharms” who posted that Cardano developers recently completed a system update that required “receiver address validation” as a security upgrade for anyone sending Cardano to a digital wallet. The Redditor went on to assert that Coinbase had not updated its system yet to reflect that change.

Messages this morning to both Coinbase Support and the Cardano Foundation for clarity on the issue have not received responses.

Details about Cardano

According to the Cardano Foundation, the coin is a proof-of-stake blockchain platform that strives to allow “changemakers, innovators, and visionaries” to bring about positive global change. At the time of writing, Cardano was trading at $1.11, down 3.66% in the last 24 hours. It’s currently ranked seventh on CoinMarketCap.com with a valuation of more than $37.3 billion.

Outage update sign-up from Coinbase

Anyone interested in getting automatic updates on the status of the funds transfer outage can visit the official Coinbase Status page and sign up for text or email updates. While affected users can’t transfer Cardano directly to other wallets, they should be able to convert their Cardano to cash or another crypto. However, if you convert Cardano to a different crypto, make sure you have the precise corresponding send/receive address of the new crypto before initiating the transaction.

Buy and sell crypto on an expert picked exchange

There are hundreds of platforms around the world that are waiting to give you access to thousands of cryptocurrencies. And to find the one that’s right for you, you’ll need to decide what features that matter most to you.

To help you get started, our independent experts have sifted through the options to bring you some of our best cryptocurrency exchanges for 2021. Check out the list here and get started on your crypto journey, today.