Cryptocurrency is still a new endeavor. People who use it aren’t too surprised when things go wrong. Ethereum Classic has suffered from three 51% attacks in one month. It costs $6 just to make a transaction on the Ethereum blockchain.
But all of these malfunctions pale in comparison to the breadth of the system error that has hit one of the oldest monetary projects in the U.S., the nation’s coin system. As we speak, the U.S. is experiencing a country-wide shortage of cents, nickels, dimes and quarters.
Since mid-June, anyone handing over a $5 or $10 bill to buy $4.92 or $9.79 worth of goods has not been receiving the 8 cents or 21 cents in change that is due to them. Retail workers behind the till just don’t have enough coins to give out.
Signs have sprung up in stores all across the U.S. asking shoppers to either pay with the correct amount of change or use a card. Grocery giant Kroger requests its customers consider rounding up their bill and paying the proceeds to Zero Hunger Zero Waste, its non-profit charity, or to put the balance due on a gift card. The grocery chain blames the Federal Reserve, which is “currently experiencing a coin shortage.” Similar signs have sprung up at McDonald’s, Dairy Queen, Lowe’s, Walmart and more.
Businesses that depend on coins are especially hard-pressed. Residents of apartment buildings with coin-operated laundry machines, desperate for change, have been raiding local laundromats for quarters. Laundromat owners are begging non-customers to stay away, some going so far as to install security cameras and hire attendants 24/7.