Lawrence Damilola
Bank of America’s recent technical outage, which left thousands of customers unable to access their accounts or seeing $0 balances, has reignited the cryptocurrency community’s mantra: “Not your keys, not your coins.”
The outage occurred yesterday due to a glitch affecting mobile and online banking platforms. This sparked widespread concern as customers were temporarily locked out of their finances, leading some to vent their frustration on social media. For many in the crypto space, this was a stark reminder of the importance of controlling one’s financial assets.
The Bank of America outage is a perfect case study for crypto advocates who argue for decentralized financial systems. Reports of over 20,000 complaints flooding in just hours after the issue emerged, and many Bank of America customers found themselves helpless, unable to access their funds.
This incident has reinvigorated the argument for personal control of assets through cryptocurrencies. When you own crypto and have control of the private keys — no third-party institution can block your access. For many in the crypto community, this outage reinforced their belief in decentralized systems like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which operate without reliance on centralized institutions like Bank of America.
The Crypto Bros’ Reaction
The Bank of America outage prompted a significant response from the cryptocurrency community. Many took to platforms like X (formerly Twitter) to remind people of the risks of leaving funds in the hands of large financial institutions.
“BOFA IS CENTRALIZED. Oh, wait. That’s the idea,” one user commented, emphasizing the drawback of centralization of banking systems and the fact that self-custody of crypto assets can safeguard against scenarios where banks fail. Others cited the event as another reason to adopt blockchain-based financial systems offering transparency, security, and control.
Not the first time the BOA is playing games with peoples money!
— Alex 🇬🇧 🇦🇪 (@AlexCryptoDubai) October 2, 2024
🚨Bank of America suffered a massive outage yesterday
— The Bitcoin Way (@Thebitcoinway_) October 3, 2024
– Customers unable to log in
– The ones that can see ZERO balances 🤯
You know what never goes down? #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/vgazz7jlay
This isn’t the initial instance where Bank of America account holders have encountered unexpected deductions from their balances. Over a year ago, numerous clients voiced their grievances on social media regarding funds absent from their deposits and issues with Zelle payments. This malfunction occurred shortly after a widespread digital disruption affected many nationwide, with Verizon facing a significant service outage. This prevented its customers from making calls or exchanging text messages.
While Bank of America issued apologies and assured that the issues were resolved, the message from the crypto community was clear: trust in centralized systems is fragile. As outages like this occur, the crypto space will continue to promote its ethos of decentralized control — where “not your keys” really does mean “not your money.”
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Lawrence does not hold any crypto asset. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Magazine and The Shib Daily are the official media and publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
