Coinbase Bitcoin Purchase Stuck In Limbo – $4,804 For 50 BTC?

A rather interesting incident occurred recently where a Coinbase user is claiming that their transaction for a purchase of 50 Bitcoin has been stuck in limbo. The original transaction was attempted on August 8^th, 2013, but unfortunately, it was never completely processed.

The user states that Coinbase recently notified them via email that the trade which was never completed for 50 Bitcoin can still be processed if the user updates their payment information. Additionally, the user will only have to pay $4,802 for the 50 Bitcoin which were requested since that was the price of Bitcoin in August of 2013.

Some might instantly think that this is some sort of a scam or an attempt to extort money from an unsuspecting user. The reason being is that the current price of Bitcoin is nearly 200 times higher and offering 50 Bitcoin for the same price as it used to be in 2013 seems unrealistic.

The user “SatoshiChrist” also thought there was something fishy going on with this whole situation, so they decided to contact Coinbase support via phone. To their surprise, the e-mail offered trade was verified as being genuine and Coinbase is indeed willing to complete the trade as long as the user changes their payment information.

To some, forking over $4,804 on the spot might be a challenge, but luckily for SatoshiChrist, this is not the case. He was completely willing to fulfill his trade and gain 50 Bitcoin, which is currently estimated to be worth nearly $1 million. Unfortunately, recently SatoshiChrist stated that Coinbase had canceled the order which was placed in 2013.

SatoshiChrist said that the message offering to complete the 50 BTC trade for $4,802, had simply vanished. On one side the user was relieved that they no longer had to pay nearly $5k for the trade, but they were also disappointed that they couldn’t get the promised 50 Bitcoin.

Similar Incidents

SatoshiChrist wasn’t the only user who has claimed that Coinbase was willing to complete a trade from the past. Another user on Reddit has claimed that they went through a very similar experience. The user said that a trade which they initiated in September of 2016 was stuck and never processed. However, recently they were able to complete the trade and to their surprise, the price which they had to pay for the Bitcoin was the same as it was in September of 2016.

This Reddit user stated that they attempted to purchase only 0.2 Bitcoin, which is clearly a smaller amount than SatoshiChrist’s original trade request. Nonetheless, the situation is nearly identical. The trade was never finalized and eventually, the Reddit user received an e-mail from Coinbase support notifying them that they would be able to finish the trade.

According to the Reddit user, this seemed too good to be true, but they went ahead and completed the transaction. The price they ultimately paid for the 0.2 BTC was indeed the price of Bitcoin in September of 2016.

Coinbase Bitcoin Purchase Stuck In Limbo Conclusion

Coinbase offers broker exchanges for multiple cryptocurrencies, but they deal primarily in Bitcoin. At any given point, they could potentially cancel any trade that has been stuck in limbo due to lack of payment on the user’s side. Instead, it seems, they are willing to allow their users to pay for their trades if there is an issue with the payment method even after they have been stuck in limbo for 4 years, although, in the case of SatoshiChrist, their offer to complete the trade did seem to disappear.

When it comes to finances, including cryptocurrencies, it is absolutely vital to keep everything in order. A bounced payment for a cryptocurrency trade might seem a bit more forgiving than a trade made through a fiat currency exchange market because there are many more fees and regulations involved when dealing with fiat currencies. However, as cryptocurrencies are gaining ground in the financial world, some regulations and inevitable fees will surface.

While some exchanges might offer for you to complete your trade even if it has been stuck for a long period of time, rest assured that this practice will not continue for long. As the price and global recognition for cryptocurrencies grow, so will the regulations surrounding cryptocurrency trade.