Despite the brief duration of Coinbase’s service hiccup, it had a noticeable impact, with stock prices dipping by up to 5% before market activities began on February 14, 2022. Opening at $193.49, Coinbase’s shares were only slightly below the prior day’s close of $194.53, experiencing a morning surge of 3.8% before stabilizing at a 1.7% increase by mid-morning.
Users attempting to access the Coinbase app during its downtime encountered a message explaining the unexpected surge: “Well, that was more popular than we thought. We need a quick time out, but don’t worry. We’ll email you when things get back to normal.”
On February 13, 2022, during the excitement of the Super Bowl broadcast, Coinbase, a platform for cryptocurrency transactions, launched an advertisement offering newcomers free Bitcoin.
Meta’s Quest account swiftly responded on social media following the airing of Coinbase’s promotion, showcasing its own bouncing QR code that directed users to a Foo Fighters-hosted virtual reality (VR) afterparty. The message humorously noted: “Hopefully this doesn’t break.”
The high volume of traffic led to a brief crash of the app. Coinbase’s stock experienced a downturn before the market opened on February 14, 2022, but managed to recover and gain traction during the morning session.
The 2022 Super Bowl also served as an advertising platform for other companies involved in cryptocurrency, products, and projects. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, was among those taking the opportunity to playfully jab at Coinbase’s misfortune.