The largest American cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has confirmed a leak of user data, estimating the damage at $400 million. Market participants call this a serious reputational blow for the platform and an attack on privacy, prompting traders to seek solutions outside centralized exchanges.

Information about security issues and theft of user funds from Coinbase clients has been published for about a year. In particular, this has been repeatedly reported by the well-known crypto detective ZachXBT, who regularly points to attacks using social engineering and SIM card swapping. These attack vectors have largely allowed criminals to steal millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.

"Given the information about the large sums allocated by Coinbase for resolving the incident and compensating clients, this is a serious reputational story for the exchange, and for the crypto community, it is yet another blow to the privacy of collected data."