Coinbase Faces Potential Loss from Cyberattack

Coinbase has indicated that it may incur losses ranging from $180 million to $400 million due to a cyberattack that compromised account data for a “small subset” of its users. Following this announcement, shares of the cryptocurrency exchange dropped by 3% during pre-market trading on Thursday.

The company mentioned that it received an email on May 11 from an unidentified threat actor who claimed to have access to specific customer accounts and internal documents.

This revelation arrives just days before Coinbase is set to be included in the Benchmark S&P 500 Index, a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency sector.

While the attacker did manage to steal some information, such as names, addresses, and email addresses, they were unable to access login credentials or passwords. Coinbase also stated that it would refund customers who were tricked into sending money to the attacker.

The hackers allegedly paid several contractors and employees working outside the US to extract data from Coinbase’s internal systems. As a response, the company promptly terminated the relevant employees.

Rather than complying with a $20 million ransom demand, Coinbase has chosen to collaborate with law enforcement. They have also initiated a $20 million reward for any information leading to the attacker.

In a blog post, the company expressed, “Instead of funding criminal activities, we will investigate the case, enhance security measures, and provide refunds to affected customers.”

Security issues continue to be a concern for the crypto sector. For instance, in February, BYBIT disclosed that its attacker had stolen approximately $1.5 billion in digital tokens.

According to a report by blockchain analytics firm Chain Orisys, the total amount stolen from cryptocurrency platforms due to hacking reached $2.2 billion in 2024. This marks the fourth consecutive year that such thefts have surpassed $1 billion.