Kraken Probes Crypto Funding Gateways Issue Involving BTC, ETH, and ERC-20s

Renowned digital asset exchange Kraken recently confronted a technical glitch impacting various key crypto funding channels, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and ERC-20 tokens. This anomaly caused considerable service delays, drawing attention to the delicate infrastructure supporting these transactions.

Disrupted Services, Swift Response

On June 6th, Kraken announced on its status page that deposit and withdrawal services were facing temporary setbacks. The initial announcement came in at 7:44 am UTC, drawing attention to the latency in these core operations. Follow-up messages at 8:06 am and 8:13 am UTC informed users that efforts to rectify the issue were ongoing.

The exact origin of the problem remained undisclosed. However, by 8:35 am UTC, the status page indicated a return to routine operations, and any updates about the delays were removed.

Routine Maintenance amidst Disruptions

Later in the day, at around 10:30 am UTC, Kraken’s futures trading platform experienced a brief suspension of about 10 minutes due to scheduled maintenance, separate from the earlier issues.

Globally recognized as one of the earliest and most reliable cryptocurrency exchanges, Kraken supports the trading of over 200 digital assets and six different fiat currencies, such as the GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, CHF, and AUD.

Looming Regulatory Shadows

In the backdrop of these operational difficulties, Kraken, like other U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges, is coping with the uncertainty triggered by the SEC’s legal actions against Binance. 

The SEC’s decision to extend its list of digital tokens considered unregistered securities, in the wake of its lawsuit against Binance, has sent ripples of concern through investors on platforms like Coinbase and Kraken.

Jeff Dorman, Arca’s Chief Investment Officer, argues that the SEC’s punitive stance towards Binance indirectly impacts tokens listed on Coinbase, Kraken, and other U.S. exchanges. 

A range of crypto assets traded on Binance’s platform, including Binance Coin (BNB), Binance USD (BUSD), Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), and others, are now under scrutiny as potential securities.