Bloomberg: The U.S. Department of Justice has begun an investigation into the data leak at Coinbase

The U.S. Department of Justice has initiated an investigation into the incident involving the leak of user data from the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the situation. The case is being handled by the criminal division of the department in Washington, but Coinbase itself is not the subject of the investigation.

Representatives of the exchange previously stated that the hack was made possible by bribing support agents working on contracts outside the U.S. - particularly in India. The attackers gained access to user data, including KYC, addresses, and phone numbers.

Later, the company received a letter demanding a payment of 20 million dollars in exchange for not disclosing the information. However, the exchange refused to take this step, instead creating a fund of 20 million dollars that will be distributed among those who help apprehend the criminals.