Boosting App Performance: Strategies to Optimize Network Requests
Article Summary
Coinbase cut network requests by 64% during traffic spikes without degrading user experience. Here's how they engineered their way to massive scale.
Coinbase's engineering team tackled a critical scaling challenge: optimizing network request patterns across mobile and web apps to handle crypto trading surges. They focused on three areas: eliminating over-fetching, optimizing for peak loads, and establishing guardrails to catch regressions early.
Key Takeaways
- Fixed N+1 query problems, reducing requests by 90% in some flows
- Dynamic traffic surge system disables non-critical features during volatility
- Added app version to GraphQL metrics to catch regressions pre-production
- Polling optimization: unsubscribe when screens lose focus to avoid waste
- 20% reduction in traffic to critical services through systematic monitoring
Critical Insight
Coinbase reduced requests by 64% during high traffic, 30% on app init, and 40% across critical user journeys while maintaining quality and cutting infrastructure costs.
