Coinbase refuses $20m ransom, launches matching bounty on blackmailers

Coinbase Rejects $20M Ransom, Offers Matching Bounty to Catch Blackmailers

In a bold move against cyber extortion, Coinbase has refused a $20 million ransom demand from criminals who obtained sensitive customer data through bribed overseas support agents. Instead, the cryptocurrency exchange has announced a $20 million bounty for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators.

The breach affected less than 1% of Coinbase's monthly transacting users and did not compromise passwords, private keys, or user funds. However, the stolen data included names, contact information, masked Social Security and bank account numbers, government-issued IDs, and transaction histories.

The attackers threatened to release this information unless Coinbase paid the ransom. CEO Brian Armstrong publicly declined the demand, stating, "We said no."