diff --git a/src/crewai/events/listeners/tracing/trace_batch_manager.py b/src/crewai/events/listeners/tracing/trace_batch_manager.py
index 826524d25..d2997a3db 100644
--- a/src/crewai/events/listeners/tracing/trace_batch_manager.py
+++ b/src/crewai/events/listeners/tracing/trace_batch_manager.py
@@ -51,9 +51,8 @@ class TraceBatchManager:
         self.backend_initialized: bool = False
         self.ephemeral_trace_url: str | None = None
         try:
-            self.plus_api = PlusAPI(
-                api_key=get_auth_token(),
-            )
+            api_key = get_auth_token()
+            self.plus_api = PlusAPI(api_key=api_key)
         except AuthError:
             self.plus_api = PlusAPI(api_key="")
         self.ephemeral_trace_url = None
diff --git a/test_tracing_auth.py b/test_tracing_auth.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2f7ed979b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test_tracing_auth.py
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""
+Test script for issue #3559 - TraceBatchManager authentication handling
+"""
+
+import sys
+sys.path.insert(0, '/home/ubuntu/repos/crewAI/src')
+
+def test_tracing_auth_issue():
+    """Test that tracing authentication issue is fixed"""
+    
+    try:
+        from crewai.events.listeners.tracing.trace_batch_manager import TraceBatchManager
+        from crewai.cli.authentication.token import AuthError
+        from unittest.mock import patch
+        
+        print("Test 1: TraceBatchManager creation without authentication")
+        
+        with patch(
+            "crewai.events.listeners.tracing.trace_batch_manager.get_auth_token",
+            side_effect=AuthError("No token found, make sure you are logged in")
+        ):
+            batch_manager = TraceBatchManager()
+            print(f"✓ TraceBatchManager created successfully with empty API key: '{batch_manager.plus_api.api_key}'")
+            
+            batch = batch_manager.initialize_batch({"user_id": "test"}, {"crew_name": "test"})
+            if batch is not None:
+                print(f"✓ Batch initialized successfully: {batch.batch_id}")
+            else:
+                print("✗ Batch initialization returned None")
+                return False
+                
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"✗ TraceBatchManager test failed: {e}")
+        import traceback
+        traceback.print_exc()
+        return False
+    
+    try:
+        from crewai import Agent, Crew, Task, LLM
+        
+        print("\nTest 2: Crew creation without authentication")
+        
+        with patch(
+            "crewai.events.listeners.tracing.trace_batch_manager.get_auth_token",
+            side_effect=AuthError("No token found, make sure you are logged in")
+        ):
+            agent = Agent(
+                role="Test Agent",
+                goal="Complete a simple task",
+                backstory="A test agent for reproducing the bug",
+                llm=LLM(model="gpt-4o-mini", api_key="fake-key")
+            )
+            
+            task = Task(
+                description="Say hello world",
+                expected_output="A greeting message",
+                agent=agent
+            )
+            
+            crew = Crew(
+                agents=[agent],
+                tasks=[task],
+                verbose=False
+            )
+            
+            print("✓ Crew created successfully without authentication errors")
+            
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"✗ Crew creation test failed: {e}")
+        import traceback
+        traceback.print_exc()
+        return False
+    
+    return True
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    print("Testing TraceBatchManager authentication handling...")
+    success = test_tracing_auth_issue()
+    if not success:
+        print("\nFAILED: Issue #3559 still exists")
+        exit(1)
+    else:
+        print("\nPASSED: Issue #3559 appears to be fixed")
diff --git a/tests/tracing/test_tracing.py b/tests/tracing/test_tracing.py
index 2ac07eb6d..30338b591 100644
--- a/tests/tracing/test_tracing.py
+++ b/tests/tracing/test_tracing.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ from unittest.mock import MagicMock, Mock, patch
 import pytest
 
 from crewai import Agent, Crew, Task
+from crewai.cli.authentication.token import AuthError
 from crewai.events.listeners.tracing.first_time_trace_handler import (
     FirstTimeTraceHandler,
 )
@@ -657,3 +658,67 @@ class TestTraceListenerSetup:
             handler.handle_execution_completion()
 
             mock_mark_completed.assert_called_once()
+
+    def test_trace_batch_manager_handles_missing_auth_gracefully(self):
+        """Test that TraceBatchManager handles missing authentication gracefully"""
+        
+        with (
+            patch(
+                "crewai.events.listeners.tracing.trace_batch_manager.get_auth_token",
+                side_effect=AuthError("No token found, make sure you are logged in")
+            ),
+            patch(
+                "crewai.events.listeners.tracing.trace_batch_manager.should_auto_collect_first_time_traces",
+                return_value=False
+            ),
+            patch.object(TraceBatchManager, "_initialize_backend_batch") as mock_backend_init,
+        ):
+            batch_manager = TraceBatchManager()
+            
+            # Verify that the manager was created with empty API key due to auth error
+            assert batch_manager.plus_api.api_key == ""
+            
+            user_context = {"user_id": "test"}
+            execution_metadata = {"crew_name": "test_crew"}
+            
+            batch = batch_manager.initialize_batch(user_context, execution_metadata)
+            
+            # Verify the batch was created successfully
+            assert batch is not None
+            assert batch_manager.is_batch_initialized()
+            assert batch.user_context == user_context
+            assert batch.execution_metadata == execution_metadata
+            assert isinstance(batch.batch_id, str)
+            assert len(batch.batch_id) > 0
+            
+            # Verify that backend initialization was attempted but handled gracefully
+            mock_backend_init.assert_called_once()
+
+    @pytest.mark.vcr(filter_headers=["authorization"])
+    def test_crew_works_without_authentication(self):
+        """Test that crews work properly when no authentication token is present"""
+        
+        with (
+            patch(
+                "crewai.events.listeners.tracing.trace_batch_manager.get_auth_token",
+                side_effect=AuthError("No token found, make sure you are logged in")
+            ),
+            patch.dict(os.environ, {"CREWAI_TRACING_ENABLED": "false"}),
+        ):
+            agent = Agent(
+                role="Test Agent",
+                goal="Test goal",
+                backstory="Test backstory",
+                llm="gpt-4o-mini",
+            )
+            task = Task(
+                description="Say hello to the world",
+                expected_output="hello world",
+                agent=agent,
+            )
+            
+            crew = Crew(agents=[agent], tasks=[task], verbose=True)
+            
+            assert crew is not None
+            assert len(crew.agents) == 1
+            assert len(crew.tasks) == 1