Coinbase Data Breach Affects Nearly 70,000 Users, Discovered Months Later

A recent legal filing shows that almost 70,000 Coinbase users had their data compromised in a breach that went unnoticed for nearly six months. The breach happened on December 26, 2024, but Coinbase only discovered it on May 11, 2025, according to a complaint filed with Maine’s Attorney General.

The legal document says that 69,461 users were affected, including 217 people living in Maine. Hackers tricked Coinbase customer service workers into giving out user information like names, contacts, and addresses. They then tried to demand $20 million to keep the data private, but Coinbase refused to pay.

Coinbase has faced several lawsuits from users who say the company did not warn them soon enough. The company reported that the breach led to $400 million in losses from scams and fixing the damage.

Coinbase fired the contractors involved and promised to help users who were hurt by the breach. Still, the news caused Coinbase’s stock to drop by 7%.

The breach raises questions about how much personal data crypto companies collect and how safe that data really is. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating, but no updates have been released yet.

This breach also put some high-profile individuals at risk, including Roelof Botha, a partner at Sequoia Capital, who was also affected. Experts warn that such leaks can lead to real-world dangers like extortion and robbery for crypto users.