Blockchain network outages refer to the temporary unavailability of a blockchain network, causing transactions to be delayed or stopped completely. Outages can significantly impact the users and businesses that rely on the network.
How do outages impact Luno customers?
Your funds are safe. You may experience delayed or failed transactions, sends, or receives while the network is down, and your funds will remain in your wallet. We suggest that you cancel any pending transactions and return again later to complete them.
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What can cause an outage?
Scalability Issues:
As the number of users on the network increases, the volume of transactions also increases, potentially leading to scalability issues and slowed processing times. If this persists and perhaps even increases still, the strain on the network may lead to the nodes becoming overwhelmed causing an outage.
Network Congestion:
Similar to issues faced in scalability - if there’s high network traffic it can cause congestion, leading to slowed transaction processing times and increased latency (the time between transaction submission and confirmation by the network). This can result in a decrease in the efficiency of the network, potentially leading to an outage.
Technical Failures:
Hardware malfunctions, software bugs, and network configuration errors. These outages are rare since changes to the rules governing the blockchain need a majority consensus, or sign-off, from those hosting the specific chain on their nodes. Changes to the network rules are thoroughly tested and vetted by key members or participants of the network community before they’re implemented.
Security Attacks:
Blockchain networks are still vulnerable to security attacks. For most networks, attackers would need control of 51% or more of the nodes, meaning they would have the power to alter the blockchain for their own gain, or malicious intent.
Human Error:
Misconfigured network settings, incorrect code deployment, and accidental node shutdowns.
Note
As a cryptocurrency app, Luno does not have the ability to resolve outages on a network. However, we will continuously monitor and inform you when outages occur so that you can decide whether to wait or proceed with your transaction.
Blockchain projects are constantly improving the scalability, security, and stability of their networks to reduce the likelihood of outages. While some outages are caused by unavoidable technical issues, others may be the result of a lack of planning and preparation on the part of the network administrators. It is increasingly important to do your own research (DYOR) before investing in a new coin or network.
To minimise the likelihood of outages, it’s crucial for blockchain networks to have robust security measures in place, well-designed and tested disaster recovery plans, and regularly scheduled maintenance and upgrades.
While we can’t prevent network downtimes, Luno only hosts vetted and technically sound coins and networks.