Coinbase Reveals Number of Users Affected by Data Breach

Coinbase has disclosed that a data breach in December 2024 resulted in hackers obtaining information on 69,461 users. The company revealed this in a notification to the authorities of the state of Maine.

The hackers demanded $20 million, threatening to publish the stolen information on the dark web. They bribed overseas support staff to gain access to system data.

Coinbase clarified that the incident affected less than 1% of active users. The leaked data included names, addresses, and emails (KYC information), but did not compromise passwords, private keys, or account funds.

The exchange estimated the costs of resolving the incident and compensating users at $180-400 million. The company has established a $20 million reward fund to aid in the search for the perpetrators, contacted law enforcement, and handed over employees who leaked the information to the investigation.

TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington criticized the exchange for its delayed response. He stated that the leak of KYC data could pose a physical threat to clients.

I am a long time investor in and champion of @coinbase. Something that has to be said though — this hack — which includes home addresses and account balances — will lead to people dying. It probably has already. The human cost, denominated in misery, is much larger than the $400m… pic.twitter.com/ruSYKAGH7x

— Michael Arrington ?‍☠️ (@arrington) May 19, 2025

“The human cost is measured in suffering, not money. Companies and regulators remain inactive while ‘know your customer’ systems are vulnerable,” he stated.

Earlier in May, Bloomberg reported that Binance and Kraken were able to fend off attacks using social engineering methods that affected Coinbase.