Cyber criminals breach Coinbase's system to steal customer data

Coinbase, the world's third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, has confirmed that its systems were breached and hackers were able to steal data belonging to approximately 1% of its customers. This data includes customers' personal details, masked Social Security numbers, masked bank account numbers, and images of the uploaded government IDs.

The cyber criminals were also able to steal information related to Coinbase customers’ crypto balances, as well as various internal details about the company. According to Coinbase, the hackers obtained this information with the help of several support agents who were working outside the United States. They bribed these employees to gather the data and hand it over to them.

All the employees involved have reportedly been identified and fired from the company. Legal action is also being taken against them. By stealing Coinbase customer data, the hackers aimed to contact the customers while pretending to be Coinbase and trick them into transferring all their crypto assets.

Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, posted a video on X stating that the hackers demanded $20 million in Bitcoin in exchange for not leaking the stolen data. Instead of giving in to the demand, the exchange has offered to pay $20 million to anyone who helps catch the hackers.

Some customers have reportedly already transferred their crypto to the hackers. However, Coinbase has stated that it will reimburse those customers, as they were deceived into making the transfers. Following the breach, the exchange has strengthened its security. Customers will now be required to go through additional ID verification steps when they try to withdraw a large amount from the exchange.

Additionally, a new support hub has been established in the U.S., and more investments will reportedly be made in internal threat detection to help prevent similar breaches in the future. Coinbase has also sent notifications to all customers affected by the data breach.

This isn’t the first time a crypto exchange has been targeted by hackers. Just a few months ago, in February 2025, hackers managed to steal around $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum from ByBit, the second-largest crypto exchange. In 2024, approximately $230 million in various cryptocurrencies was stolen from WazirX, one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges in India.

In total, about $2.2 billion in crypto was stolen throughout 2024. These ongoing crypto-related crimes are ultimately making it more difficult for countries to adopt cryptocurrencies and invest in them with confidence.

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