US crypto exchange Coinbase is employing artificial intelligence to mitigate against potential downtime during times of heavy traffic.
Coinbase says it has deployed a machine-learning model that “predicts spikes in user traffic” and automatically deploys more server resources to pre-empt potential outages.
“Crypto markets can be volatile. On the Coinbase platform, spikes of user activity and traffic can occur suddenly and quickly, and then disappear just as fast. We handle those changing traffic patterns and workloads by scaling up and adding resources in times of high traffic, and scaling down back to normal after the spike in traffic has passed.”
According to Coinbase, the machine-learning model proved its efficacy during the recent volatility experienced in the crypto market when user traffic surged above the regular levels.
“As traffic increased so did our scale target, doubling twice a few hours before peak traffic. The model continued scaling up and down with the daily usage pattern, until volatility decreased and there was no longer a need to scale up.”
Coinbase says the machine-learning model uses the platform load as well as external signals which include the fluctuations of the prices of digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) to determine when to avail additional server resources.
“The key insight: if cryptocurrency price volatility is high and the current traffic is approaching the target level at a faster rate than anticipated, then the likelihood of a traffic spike is increased.”
During the last cycle, Coinbase experienced widespread outages after user traffic rose by about 400%. At the time, Coinbase said it would come up with new solutions aimed at minimizing downtime.
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