Bitcoin Breaks Records, and the Exchanges Where It’s Traded

Bitcoin’s historic rally is causing growing pains for the platforms where it’s traded, leaving investors unable to buy or sell the digital currency for hours at a time.

As Bitcoin surpassed $40,000 for the first time on Thursday, the most widely used cryptocurrency platform was buckling under pressure. Coinbase said it’s investigating connectivity issues on both its web and mobile apps.

It’s not the first time there’s been a disruption.

Exchanges have had problems coinciding with rapid price increases throughout the past year: On June 1, Coinbase experienced a fivefold increase in traffic over four minutes when Bitcoin reached the ...