Crypto Prices Briefly Spiked on Coinbase, CoinMarketCap.com Due to Glitch

Crypto prices on popular trading app Coinbase and data provider CoinMarketCap.com were heavily inflated on Tuesday, leading some investors to believe that had become trillionaires overnight.

Screenshots shared on Twitter showed that popular coins, like Ethereum, Tether, Binance Coin, Solana, Cardano, Polkadot and Dogecoin reached prices in the billions and trillions on CoinMarketCap.com early on Tuesday.

JUST IN: CoinMarketCap, one of the largest crypto information sources in the world has reportedly been hacked. pic.twitter.com/Fln9R86TdQ

— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) December 14, 2021

Coinbase also acknowledged that it displayed inflated prices on its website.

We’re aware some customers are seeing inflated values for non-tradable crypto assets on https://t.co/ohqDivCZYw and Coinbase Wallet. This is a display issue only and does not impact trading.

— Coinbase Support (@CoinbaseSupport) December 14, 2021

The price surge led many crypto users to believe that they had seemingly become billionaires and trillionaires overnight.

My crypto is at the Fyre Festival it’s so hot 🔥🔥🔥!

Time to buy some NFTs!! Thanks @coinbase!https://t.co/kS48sIJDjk pic.twitter.com/Msjh9WMTK8

— messina.eth (@chrismessina) December 14, 2021

Thanks Coinbase 😍 pic.twitter.com/jPO8gNPldx

— Will Hershey (@maybebullish) December 14, 2021

Just logged into my Coinbase account to see what’s good today and 😲 pic.twitter.com/zTr2QBFu5W

— Michael Starrbury (@StarrburyMike) December 14, 2021

Both Coinbase and CoinMarketCap acknowledged the glitch but did not explain the source of the issue. Some speculated that the platforms were hacked while others wondered if it was human error.

“Engineering is aware of incorrect price information appearing on CoinMarketCap.com. We are currently investigating and will update this status when we have more information,” the listing service said in a statement. Later, the company wrote: “Engineering has deployed a fix, all prices should be accurate.”

CoinMarketCap then poked fun at the situation on Twitter with a series of memes:

How did it feel to be a trillionaire for a couple hours?😂

— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) December 14, 2021

Price issues are resolved, but……https://t.co/kL8gS5x8im pic.twitter.com/5yT1ZGiQ1D

— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) December 14, 2021

The company added that it would be “rebooting our servers as a final step,” and said that it hadn’t yet found any evidence of foul play by an external party.

Coinbase labeled the issue “display only” and said it would not impact trading.

We’re aware some customers are seeing inflated values for non-tradable crypto assets on https://t.co/ohqDivCZYw and Coinbase Wallet. This is a display issue only and does not impact trading.

— Coinbase Support (@CoinbaseSupport) December 14, 2021

By Tuesday evening, the coins returned to their actual prices to the dismay of crypto investors everywhere, though many were inspired to think of what cryptocurrency markets could look like in the future.

In other news, Elon Musk says that Tesla will be accepting Dogecoin for “some merch.”