Bitstamp has warned it is “overloaded” as a surge of users new to Bitcoin places a huge strain on its resources.

In an announcement Wednesday, Bitstamp said the number of such users was “exerting significant pressure,” and it had shut down its telephone support altogether to divert staff elsewhere.

Users appear to have been caught unawares, Cointelegraph received a message asking for clarification of the lack of available support from the exchange.

The phenomenon presents questions as to how to educate newbies on using and trading cryptocurrencies and suggests available resources are not as readily accessible or straightforward as might be necessary.

The issue has been compounded by the state of the Bitcoin network itself. Slow confirmation times are likely adding to the workload for exchanges such as Bitstamp through fielding complaints from users assuming the fault lies with the recipient.

Further worries came from altcoin exchange Poloniex, which said it had seen a 600 to 640 percent increase in users and transactions since January.

“Unlike many other markets, Blockchain token exchanges strive to operate on a 24/7 basis with no weekends or holidays, all while under perpetual assault,” it said in a press release Tuesday.

Poloniex has seen significant struggles in recent months as malicious actors sought to take the service offline through DDoS attacks.