Exchange Uptime and Downtime Explained

Uptime and downtime are service availability metrics: how long exchange operated without failures and how long it was unavailable. For traders, both platform reputation and infrastructure reliability matter.

This article covers what uptime and downtime are, how they’re calculated, what to look for when choosing exchange and how to reduce risks during outages.

What is Uptime and Downtime

Uptime — portion of time when service was available and operated normally. Downtime — time when service was unavailable or operated with serious limitations. Simply put: uptime answers “what percentage of time exchange was available,” downtime — “how long it didn’t work or had interruptions.”

Both metrics usually expressed in percentages per period (month, year) or in hours/minutes of downtime. Uptime formula:

Uptime (%) = (Operating Time / Total Period Time) × 100

For example, in a month (720 hours) exchange was unavailable for 3 hours. Uptime = (717 / 720) × 100 ≈ 99.58%. Accordingly, downtime — 3 hours or about 0.42% of period.

What Counts as Downtime

Complete website or API unavailability (user can’t log in or execute request).
Partial unavailability: individual functions don’t work (e.g., only spot or only futures), trading halted with working interface.
Severe delays (lags) making order execution unreliable or impossible in reasonable time.

Brief technical “hangs” for few seconds may not appear in public statistics, but with frequent repetition they also affect trading quality. Understanding infrastructure reliability helps plan risk distribution and not keep critical positions on single platform.

Why Traders Should Check Exchange Uptime

During downtime, trader can’t fully manage positions: close trade, change stop-loss or cancel order. Price continues moving during this time — with open position this is direct risk. In volatile market, even short outage can lead to undesirable consequences.

Main risks during outages:

Inability to close position — price may move against open position while exchange is unavailable.
Slippage and execution at worse price — after restoration, orders may execute with delay and at unfavorable price.
API failures — trading bots and scripts stop receiving data and sending orders; automated strategies (including DCA or grid) don’t execute as planned.
Loss of access to funds — during outage, withdrawals and sometimes transfers between accounts unavailable.

Higher share of trading through exchange and more critical positions — more important to choose platforms with high uptime history and adequate communication during incidents.

Important: Don’t keep all funds on one exchange. Distribute assets across multiple platforms and cold wallets.

How Exchange Availability is Measured

Platform reliability assessed from multiple sources.

Public Status Pages

Many exchanges maintain status page where current state of services (trading, API, withdrawals, web interface) and incident history displayed. From them you can see official version: when outage occurred, which systems affected and when work restored.

Examples:

Binance: status.binance.com
Bybit: status.bybit.com
Kraken: status.kraken.com

Availability Reports

Some exchanges publish monthly or annual reports with uptime percentages for main services. Such figures useful for comparison, but calculation methodology may differ (what exactly counted as “available,” which regions and nodes considered).

Third-Party Monitoring Services

Independent services periodically poll exchange websites and APIs from different points worldwide and build availability charts. They help assess uptime “from outside,” but coverage and check frequency vary by service — data should be taken as additional, not sole source.

Examples:

DownDetector — user complaints in real-time
CryptoStatus — crypto exchange and wallet monitoring

When choosing exchange, reasonable to combine: look at official status, external monitoring, and user reviews about recent incidents. For automated trading, important to choose platforms with 99.5%+ uptime — such available in list of supported exchanges on Veles.

Typical Causes of Downtime

Scheduled maintenance — system updates, migration, capacity expansion. Usually announced in advance and conducted during low activity hours. Brief windows of unavailability considered planned.

Overload — sharp traffic surge (pump, crash, popular asset listing) leads to lags, timeouts or complete unavailability. Architecture and scaling quality manifests in such moments.

DDoS attacks — targeted infrastructure overload. Large exchanges usually have protection, but attacks may cause short-term or local failures.

Internal incidents — equipment failures, update errors, human factor. By them judged quality of operations and speed of team response.

Regulatory interventions — blocks by authorities, requirements to halt trading for specific regions.

Table: Uptime of Popular Exchanges (2025)

Exchange	Uptime (2025)	Status Page	Incidents	Downtime
Binance	99.95%	status.binance.com	0	~4 hours/year
Bybit	99.9%	status.bybit.com	1	~9 hours/year
Bitget	99.8%	status.bitget.com	2	~18 hours/year
OKX	99.85%	status.okx.com	1	~13 hours/year
BingX	99.7%	status.bingx.com	3	~26 hours/year
Kraken	99.9%	status.kraken.com	1	~9 hours/year
Coinbase	99.95%	status.coinbase.com	0	~4 hours/year

Data for 2025. Sources: official exchange status pages.

What percentages mean:

99.9% (three nines): ~9 hours downtime per year — good indicator for crypto exchange
99.95%: ~4 hours downtime per year — excellent indicator
99.99% (four nines): ~53 minutes downtime per year — traditional finance level

Conclusions:

Binance, Coinbase — reliability leaders (99.95%)
Bybit, Kraken — good balance (99.9%)
Bitget, OKX — acceptable (99.8%)
BingX — requires backup platforms (99.7%)

How Exchanges Compensate for Outages

Important: Compensation policies may change. Always check current information on official exchange websites.

General principles:

Binance

Compensation for:

Outage >30 minutes
Inability to close position
Technical errors on exchange side

Format:

Vouchers for trading fees
BNB tokens (rarely)

Where to check: Binance Official Announcement Channel

Bybit

Compensation for:

Outage >1 hour
API unavailable >30 minutes

Format:

Bonuses to trading account
Cashback on fees

Where to check: Bybit Announcements

Bitget

Compensation for:

Outage >2 hours
Inability to withdraw funds

Format:

Bonus USDT
Increased rates in Earn

Where to check: Bitget Support Center

BingX

Compensation for:

Outage >1 hour
Liquidations during outage

Format:

Fee vouchers
Insurance fund (case-by-case)

Where to check: BingX Help Center

OKX

Compensation for:

Outage >30 minutes
Order execution errors

Format:

OKB tokens
Cashback on fees

Where to check: OKX Support

How to Get Compensation

Step-by-step instruction:

Step 1: Save Evidence

What needed:

Screenshots of errors (404, 503, timeout)
API logs (if using bots)
Downtime time (start, end)
Losses (unrealized profit, losses)

Example:

Time: 2024-03-15 14:30-16:00 UTC
Error: API timeout (code 504)
Losses: Inability to close BTC long, $500 loss

Step 2: Contact Support

Where:

Support ticket on exchange
Twitter/X (public appeal)
Telegram channel of exchange

What to write:

Problem description
Downtime duration
Attached evidence
Compensation amount

Template:

Subject: Compensation for outage 15.03.2024

Hello,

During exchange outage (14:30-16:00 UTC) I couldn't close position.
Attaching error screenshots and loss calculation.

Request compensation of $500.

Screenshots: [attached]
API logs: [attached]

Sincerely,
[Your name]

Step 3: Wait for Response

Timeframes:

Binance: 3-5 business days
Bybit: 2-4 business days
Bitget: 5-7 business days
BingX: 3-5 business days
OKX: 2-4 business days

If denied:

Request appeal
Contact social media (public pressure works)
Leave review on Trustpilot, Reddit

Checklist: How to Choose Reliable Exchange

When choosing exchange, check:

Technical criteria

Uptime >99.5% over last year
Public status page
Incident history <5 per year
DDoS protection (Cloudflare, AWS Shield)
Backup servers (geo-distribution)

Financial criteria

Proof of Reserves
Insurance fund >$100M
Compensation policy (transparent)
Third-party audit

Reputational criteria

Time on market >3 years
Public team
Licenses (FinCEN, FCA, ASIC)
User reviews (Trustpilot >4.0)

For automated trading

Minimum requirements:

Uptime: 99.5%+
Age: 3+ years
Reserves: Proof of Reserves
Compensation: transparent policy

Optimal choice:

Binance, Bybit — for most traders
Bitget, OKX — for alternative
BingX — only as backup platform

Summary

Exchange uptime and downtime are key reliability metrics. Choose platforms with high uptime history and transparent communication during incidents.

Key takeaways:

Uptime shows exchange reliability, downtime — failure frequency
Check status pages, third-party monitoring, user reviews
Diversify across multiple exchanges and cold wallets
For automated trading, choose 99.5%+ uptime platforms
Know compensation policies of your exchanges

More on automated trading: DCA Strategy, Grid Trading.

FAQ

What is exchange uptime?

Percentage of time exchange operated normally without failures. 99.9% uptime means ~9 hours downtime per year.

What is considered good uptime?

99.9%: good for crypto exchange
99.95%: excellent
99.99%: traditional finance level (bank grade)

Where to check exchange uptime?

Official status page (status.binance.com, status.bybit.com)
Third-party monitors (DownDetector, CryptoStatus)
User reviews on Reddit, Trustpilot

What to do during exchange outage?

Check status page for official information
Contact support via ticket
Monitor Twitter/X for updates
Don’t panic — most outages resolved within hours

Can I get compensation for downtime?

Yes, many exchanges compensate for outages >30-60 minutes. Contact support with evidence (screenshots, logs, loss calculation).

How to protect from exchange downtime?

Diversify across multiple exchanges
Keep emergency funds in cold wallet
Use stop-loss orders
Monitor positions regularly

Is 99.7% uptime good?

Acceptable, but not excellent. 99.7% = ~26 hours downtime per year. For serious trading, better choose 99.9%+ platforms.

What is API downtime?

Period when exchange API doesn’t respond. Affects trading bots, automated strategies, third-party apps. Usually shorter than website downtime.

Should I withdraw during outage?

If outage prolonged (>6 hours) and no communication from team — consider withdrawing after restoration. But usually outages resolved within 1-2 hours.

How to report exchange outage?

Post on Twitter/X tagging exchange
Leave review on Trustpilot
Report to support via ticket
Share experience on Reddit (r/CryptoCurrency)