On July 19, the crypto community celebrated as blockchain networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum continued to operate seamlessly during one of the most significant information technology outages in history. While critical infrastructures such as courts, healthcare providers, airlines, and other essential services experienced debilitating disruptions, blockchain networks remained impervious, allowing uninterrupted transactions.

Jeff Garzik, a former Bitcoin Core and Linux kernel developer, highlighted the disparity between the centralized services’ failures and blockchain’s resilience. On the social media platform X, he remarked, “Global IT outage: Linux, Bitcoin, and Ethereum unaffected.”

Jameson Lopp, co-founder of the Bitcoin multisignature wallet service Casa, echoed these sentiments. He stated, “The massive infrastructure outages occurring globally right now are a stark example of why Bitcoin node software does not automatically update,” emphasizing the systemic risks introduced by auto-updates.

Pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis also weighed in, noting that blockchains were unaffected by the widespread cyber outages. “Do you know what form of currency hasn’t been affected by widespread cyber outages?” she asked rhetorically, answering, “Bitcoin.” She concluded her post with the Latin phrase “Vires in Numeris,” meaning “Strength in Numbers,” alluding to the thousands of validator nodes that secure Bitcoin transactions.

Some community members pointed out the role of the Windows operating system in the outage, asserting that one of blockchain’s strengths lies in its compatibility with multiple operating systems.

Dr. Calle, developer of the Bitcoin wallet Cashu, recalled Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto’s original stance against developing a Linux client. Quoting Satoshi, he said, “While it’s tempting to do a Linux port […], auto-run might give us 300% more nodes while Linux might give us 3% more.” Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd responded, “Satoshi was just wrong on this. The bigger market was nerds running Linux.”

The creator of the analytics platform Bitcoin Lab, known as The Bitcoin Researcher, also emphasized Linux’s importance in maintaining the Bitcoin network’s strength and resilience, arguing that a Bitcoin network running solely on Windows or Mac would have a single point of failure.

Although Bitcoin software was initially released for Windows in January 2009, a Linux version was launched later that year.

According to a Forbes report, the outage stemmed from a flawed automatic update sent to all devices running CrowdStrike for Windows, a cybersecurity program designed to detect and prevent exploits against IT systems. The Mac and Linux versions of CrowdStrike were unaffected by the update.

On July 19, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz announced that the company was working diligently to resolve the issue and restore business operations.

This incident underscores the robustness of decentralized blockchain networks compared to their centralized counterparts, highlighting the potential of blockchain technology in ensuring uninterrupted financial transactions amidst global IT crises.