A major power outage occurred in San Francisco on Saturday afternoon, leaving 130,000 homes and businesses without electricity. This incident forced residents to confront the fundamental vulnerabilities of technology. The cause was a fire at a PG&E substation, which cut access to digital wallets and cryptocurrency exchange platforms for thousands of users.
This event underscores that while decentralized blockchain networks may be resilient, the real-world use of cryptocurrency still relies on local electrical and internet infrastructure.
San Francisco's energy crisis: Scope and impact.
The power outage began at 1:09 PM, affecting about one-third of PG&E customers in San Francisco. The disruption focused on the Richmond district and spread throughout the city. By 11 PM, power was restored to about 95,000 customers, but nearly 18,000 still had no electricity by Sunday afternoon.
This event disrupted the city's public transport system, halting Waymo robotaxi operations mid-journey and forcing numerous restaurants and shops to close. The extent of the damage shocked many, as noted on social media, with nearly 30% of the city without power overnight—without storms, no prior warnings, and no clear accountability.
The blockchain network faces usability issues in some areas.
This power outage event serves as a reminder that even decentralized technologies still rely on centralized infrastructure.
Cryptocurrency networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum operate on distributed ledgers maintained by thousands of nodes worldwide. Therefore, even if a power outage occurs in a major technology hub like San Francisco, it does not directly affect the blockchain. Transactions are still verified, new blocks are added, and users' assets are safely recorded on the network.
In summary, no matter how dark the sky gets, your crypto assets will not be lost.
However, in practice, it is not that simple. When there is no electricity and internet, affected users cannot access wallets, make transactions, or process payments. Stores accepting cryptocurrency face the same limitations—no power means no point-of-sale systems.
Cryptocurrency mining, which requires vast and continuous energy, will stop immediately when the power goes out. If the power outage occurs in a region with a high hash rate, it may temporarily slow down the network verification.
For those conducting transactions during the power outage, outcomes depend on timing. Unconfirmed transactions remain in the mempool and will proceed once the connection is restored. Confirmed transactions cannot be altered and are unaffected.
The infrastructure of the marketplace allows for 24-hour cryptocurrency trading in Thailand.
Major cryptocurrency exchange platforms are developing strategies to ensure trading does not stop during power outages. Industry analysis shows that each platform employs multi-layered protection systems, such as backup power supplies, generators for prolonged outages, and backup data centers with automatic failover protocols.
If the main center is unavailable, trading will immediately shift to regions that are still operational, and data replication between centers ensures that no information is lost while maintaining transaction integrity during crises.
Asset security is crucial during power outages because most assets are stored in cold wallets offline, away from network risks. The hot wallets used for current trading are fewer in number and protected by multi-signature protocols, including withdrawal limits. Therefore, practicing plans and ensuring continuity helps exchanges operate even during prolonged power outages.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation has already established infrastructure standards for cryptocurrency operations, stating in a white paper that cryptocurrency centers must use complex internal infrastructure, such as UPS systems and generators, to remain stable in uncertain environments.
These efforts reflect the differences between designing a decentralized network and the traditional infrastructure necessary for real-world access. However, even if blockchain survives a regional power outage, the services connecting to users still depend on electricity and internet investments.
The paradox of hardware wallets.
Security-conscious holders often keep their assets in hardware wallets, maintaining offline private keys to prevent network attack. While this method is very secure, the power outage event reveals an uncomfortable truth: hardware wallets are secure, but without electricity, users cannot access them either.
The security devices keep assets intact, but owners sitting in dark rooms cannot check balances, sign transactions, or move funds according to market conditions. Stability and accessibility are often in tension during infrastructure failures.
An offline copy of the seed phrase allows for recovery later but does not address immediate issues. Therefore, if cryptocurrency is to be a reliable financial tool, each user needs to plan for situations where even the most secure storage is temporarily inaccessible.
Decentralized but not autonomous.
The power outage event in San Francisco reflects structural problems in the value proposition of cryptocurrency. While decentralization helps prevent a single point of failure at the protocol level, access for end users still depends on electricity, internet, and local infrastructure that operates just like traditional digital payment methods.
Some projects are now exploring alternative options. For instance, Blockstream has a satellite network that distributes Bitcoin blockchain data globally, allowing nodes to sync data without relying on traditional networks. Although these solutions are still niche, they indicate a greater independence from infrastructure.
Impact on users.
This event thus provides practical lessons for cryptocurrency holders: having diverse backup plans, such as mobile hotspots, backup batteries, and knowing which areas may still have electricity. When evaluating exchange services, redundancy of infrastructure and disaster recovery readiness should be considered alongside fees and coin listings.
But perhaps the most honest conclusion is: the blockchain network survives power outages, but user access does not. As long as this gap exists, cryptocurrency remains a financial tool suited for fair weather. While it may be strong in theory, it becomes inaccessible during crucial times.
