- The financial market is facing major disruptions due to a Microsoft outage, impacting banks, airlines, and exchanges.
- The crypto market remains unaffected, highlighting the reliability of blockchain technology.
The financial market faced significant challenges today following a widespread Microsoft outage. This disruption has affected most corporations, especially the London Stock Exchange, airlines, and banks. However, the crypto market is still quite stable, with industry leaders optimistic about the role of blockchain.
Crypto Market Unscathed by Outage
While traditional financial institutions struggle with the effects of the Microsoft glitch, the crypto market has not been affected. At the moment of writing, no significant disruptions of major crypto exchange platforms, DeFi, or protocols are reported; the trading volumes are on the rise. Industry executives attribute this stability to the inherent strengths of blockchain technology, which operates independently of centralized financial systems.
Nansen, a blockchain intelligence firm, stated that decentralized finance (DeFi) models are more secure than traditional centralized ones. The firm said that the use of blockchain technology could have potentially halved such outages in the future. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko shared similar views on X stating that conventional systems are just ‘thin clients into one giant Windows computer’.
TIL all Microsoft windows machines are just thin clients into one giant windows computer. Sun Microsystems was 30 years too early!
— toly 🇺🇸 | compressed (@aeyakovenko) July 19, 2024
Crypto users have also shared their opinions, saying that blockchain can help eliminate errors in financial operations. One user, @emilyjnicolle, remarked, “A Microsoft glitch leaves the whole world reeling, and yet… crypto exchange status pages remain clear?”
However, some market commentators have expressed their concerns over the indirect effects even though the crypto market looks stable for the time being. Although the Microsoft outage has not impacted crypto firms’ structures, it can affect the macro-trading sentiments in the future. Recent institutional investments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have created a closer correlation between the crypto market and traditional stock markets.
Major Institutions Worldwide Grapple with Service Interruptions
Microsoft outage has affected almost all the organizations around the globe including financial, educational and other sectors. Banks, airlines, supermarkets, and financial exchanges have all experienced major service outages. Microsoft has acknowledged the problem and stated that it is working to establish the root cause of the particular problem.
The website DownDetector, which tracks user-reported internet outages, recorded increasing service outages at Visa, ADT Security, Amazon, and airlines including American Airlines and Delta. In Australia, airlines, telecommunications providers, banks, and media broadcasters were affected as they could not access their computer systems. Some of the New Zealand banks were also affected.
Microsoft 365 posted on X that the company was “working on rerouting the impacted traffic to alternate systems to alleviate impact in a more expedient fashion” and noted a “positive trend in service availability.”
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), all airlines in the United States, United, American, Delta, and Allegiant had all been grounded. In the UK, airlines, railways, and television stations were impacted by computer issues.
Ryanair, train operators TransPennine Express and Govia Thameslink Railway, and broadcaster Sky News were among those disrupted. Ryanair told its passengers to arrive at the airport at least three hours before the departure time. The Microsoft outage has highlighted the contrasting resilience between traditional financial systems and the crypto market.
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