Fidelity, Vanguard Go Dark Amid Bitcoin, Stock Market Panic

Several online brokerages, including Fidelity Investments and Vanguard, experienced massive service outages on Monday as markets from crypto to equities tumbled on increasingly cloudy U.S. economic forecasts. 

More than 2,800 Vanguard customers reported services were down at 10am ET on Monday, while nearly 4,000 Fidelity users were experiencing similar issues, data from Downdetector shows. Meanwhile, Robinhood has suspended its round-the-clock trading services due to “elevated volatility” in global markets, Investing.com reported on Monday. 

The rash of service outages comes amid a broader slump in the global markets, as investors liquidate their positions ahead of a potential U.S. recession. 

The total cryptocurrency market fell below $2 trillion, down nearly 8% in the past 24 hours, CoinGecko data shows. The digital asset market plunged more sharply compared to the broader markets, which are also in a rout: The S&P 500 has fallen 2.66% and the Nasdaq has slumped 3.12% in the past 24 hours.

Goldman Sachs economists raised their predictions that the U.S. will slide into a recession in the next 12 months to 25% (from 15%), Bloomberg reported. The 10-percentage-point increase in U.S. recession odds follows a recent rash of weak second-quarter earnings and lackluster economic data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In addition, several investors fear the Federal Reserve fumbled a soft landing for the U.S. economy, missing critical opportunities to cut interest rates this year. 

It’s unclear whether investors’ rush of withdrawal requests prompted the brokerages’ respective service outages. Fidelity Investments and Vanguard did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.

Edited by Andrew Hayward