AWS Outage Exposes Centralization Risks for Crypto Apps and Protocols

An Amazon Web Services outage in October 2025 revealed the over-reliance of crypto platforms on centralized infrastructure, sparking debate about decentralization.

AWS Outage Exposes Centralization Risks for Crypto Apps and Protocols

The crypto world faced a harsh reminder of its reliance on centralized infrastructure when Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced a major outage on October 20, 2025. This event, affecting millions, triggered widespread service disruptions, highlighting vulnerabilities within the seemingly decentralized crypto ecosystem. The outage serves as a pivotal moment to re-evaluate the current architecture and strive for true decentralization.

The Ripple Effect of the AWS Outage

The AWS outage cascaded into the crypto industry, taking down major platforms like Coinbase and ConsenSys’ Infura. Even layer-2 networks like Base, designed for scalability, were affected. Infura, a critical infrastructure provider connecting wallets and apps to blockchains, reported disruptions across Ethereum Mainnet, Polygon, Optimism, Arbitrum, Linea, Base, and Scroll.

Decentralization Paradox

The outage exposed a critical paradox: many crypto platforms claiming decentralization heavily rely on centralized cloud services for front-ends and API layers. While the consensus layers remained intact, users couldn't access them, sparking criticism about the true decentralization of these systems. As Ben Schiller from Miden aptly stated, blockchains that go down due to AWS outages are not sufficiently decentralized. The incident underscored the importance of globally distributed validator sets and independent node operators, as demonstrated by the unaffected layer-1 blockchains like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

A Recurring Problem

This wasn’t an isolated incident. A similar AWS outage in April 2025 had already raised alarms about centralization risks. The fact that a repeat outage caused similar disruptions just six months later indicates that the crypto industry hasn't made significant progress in mitigating its dependence on centralized infrastructure.

Securitize MCP Server: A Step Towards Data Accessibility

Amidst these centralization concerns, there are efforts to improve data accessibility within the crypto space. Securitize's MCP Server, built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), aims to connect data to enterprise systems and AI tools. This initiative offers a standardized way to access real-time information, such as asset supply and token metadata, potentially empowering investors and developers with easier access to reliable on-chain data.

Looking Ahead

The AWS outage serves as a wake-up call. The crypto industry must prioritize true decentralization, reduce reliance on centralized infrastructure, and explore solutions that enhance data accessibility. While the path to complete decentralization is complex, this incident underscores the urgency and importance of this pursuit. It’s time to build a more resilient and truly decentralized future for crypto!