Understanding the Outage
On December 22, BitPay, a major cryptocurrency payment service provider, experienced a hiccup in its Bitcoin (BTC) payment processing system. For nearly 3.5 hours, users found themselves unable to make BTC transactions. This situation prompted BitPay to communicate via Twitter that they were actively working to resolve the issue. The good news is that by 4:25 PM EST, services were restored, and users could once again bask in the warm glow of Bitcoin payments.
BitPay’s Response to the Incident
When contacted for further details, BitPay’s spokesperson kept things brief, stating, “There were temporary issues with BitPay’s BTC payment processing system. Our tech team was alerted and promptly resolved the issue.” This vague explanation left users scratching their heads, wondering what exactly transpired backstage at the BitPay operation.
User Reactions
As expected, the temporary halt didn’t sit well with users. A wave of complaints flooded Twitter. Some users expressed their frustrations, believing that BitPay had disabled Bitcoin payments entirely for all merchants. Others took the opportunity to air their grievances about BitPay’s reliability compared to alternatives like the BTC Pay Server. One user summed it up well, saying:
“I love your API data service, but you guys gotta fix your shit. Dump BitPay and install BTC Pay Server; it’s embarrassing that a service called ‘Bitcoinaverage’ can’t even accept Bitcoin for payment.”
Recent Developments at BitPay
The timing of this outage is intriguing, especially considering that just a couple of weeks prior, on December 10, BitPay had announced the support for three new stablecoins: USD Coin (USDC), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), and Paxos Standard Token (PAX). With this expansion, the total number of cryptocurrencies supported by BitPay rose to six: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), and the new additions. So, it seems they were gearing up for a robust finish to the year—until this hiccup occurred.
The Controversial Reputation of BitPay
Founded in 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia, BitPay has been no stranger to controversy. Despite handling transactions worth over $1 billion in 2018, they’ve also faced criticism for their promotion of Bitcoin Cash as a superior alternative to Bitcoin. This dichotomy has left many questioning whether BitPay can be trusted to reliably process crypto payments. As of December 2019, they reportedly serviced over 30,000 global merchants, proving that while their reputation may be rocky, their usage remains robust.
