Coinbase CEO Rejects $20M Ransom, Offers Reward Instead
By: cryptosheadlines|2025/05/16 15:30:08
0
Share
Airdrop Is Live CaryptosHeadlines Media Has Launched Its Native Token CHT. Airdrop Is Live For Everyone, Claim Instant 5000 CHT Tokens Worth Of $50 USDT. Join the Airdrop at the official website, CryptosHeadlinesToken.com Brian Armstrong responds firmly to Coinbase attackers.Armstrong rejected the attackers’ bargain and reassured users.Coinbase placed a $20 million bounty for intel to track the attackers.Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has publicly responded to cyber attackers who attempted to blackmail the cryptocurrency exchange and extort it of $20 million. Armstrong’s latest post on X has a 2-minute 44-second video of him rejecting the attackers’ bargain and offering an equivalent reward to anyone with information leading to their arrest and conviction.Attackers Demanded Bitcoin Ransom After Limited Data BreachAccording to Armstrong, the attackers sent Coinbase an email demanding a $20 million ransom in Bitcoin. They claimed paying the ransom would be the only way to stop them from releasing users’ information they had illegally obtained. Highlighting Coinbase’s model of transparent operation, Armstrong addressed the issue publicly, emphasizing the crypto exchange’s decision not to pay ransom. The Coinbase CEO outlined the company’s proactive approach, noting the immediate steps taken to investigate the issue and neutralize the attackers’ threats.Related: Coinbase Exec Slams US Treasury’s Cybersecurity Gaps Post-HackBreach Involved Overseas Support Agents, Limited User Data ExposedCoinbase’s internal investigation into the security situation discovered that the attackers gained access to less than 1% of users’ data with the help of one or more overseas support agents. According to Armstrong, the cybercriminals sought a weak link among the overseas agents, someone who would accept a bribe in exchange for sharing some customer information.Despite the breach, Armstrong downplayed the security impact by highlighting the limited information support agents can access on the Coinbase platform. He assured the public that the attackers did not obtain critical data like passwords or private keys. They could only retrieve less critical information like names, addresses, and users’ dates of birth.Coinbase Pledges Reimbursement, Security Upgrades, $20M BountyMeanwhile, Armstrong cited the attackers’ potential to use the retrieved information to conduct social engineering attacks in a secondary heist. He regretted the actions of the “few bad apples” within the Coinbase global workforce but promised to reimburse customers who fell victim to social engineering because of the incident. Related: Brian Armstrong Says Bitcoin’s $102K Rally Signals Government BuyingArmstrong informed the public about Coinbase’s effort to improve its security and prevent a repeat of such breaches, including relocating some of its customer support operations. Instead of paying a ransom, Coinbase has issued a $20 million reward for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the attackers.Disclaimer: The information presented in this article is for informational and educational purposes only. The article does not constitute financial advice or advice of any kind. Coin Edition is not responsible for any losses incurred as a result of the utilization of content, products, or services mentioned. Readers are advised to exercise caution before taking any action related to the company.Source link
You may also like

WEEX Trade to Earn: Turn Futures Trading into Instant WXT Rewards
Join WEEX Trade to Earn and earn instant WXT rebates on every futures trade. Boost rewards with referrals and tasks. Trade more, earn more on WEEX exchange.

Trading Everything, Never Closing: RWA Perpetual Contracts (Part 1)
RWA perpetual contracts are trying to disrupt the traditional financial markets of costly zero-day options (0DTE) and opaque contracts for difference (CFD) with transparent on-chain "linear leverage."

Morning News | Nscale completes $2 billion Series C funding; 20 millionth Bitcoin has been mined; Polymarket will launch S&P 500 binary options products
Overview of Important Market Events on March 9

Dialogue between Vitalik and Suji: Why have decentralized social products failed?
Analyzing the dilemma of decentralized social networks should start from "solving social problems" rather than "overlaying crypto finance," exploring new opportunities for the integration of AI and prediction markets.

Trading Never Sleeps: On-Chain, Crude Oil, and Leverage
The prices in this window are determined by emotions, amplified by leverage, driven by the narrative of war—rather than by the supply and demand of crude oil.

On-chain Yield Panorama: The Evolution from Interest-bearing Stablecoins to Crypto Credit Products
In a bear market, investors tend to prefer more stable returns and lower underlying risks, which has driven the growth of interest-bearing stablecoins.

RootData announced the integration with OpenClaw, and these gameplay features have gone viral
In the era of AI Agents, the value of data lies not in "ownership," but in "connection."

Key Market Intelligence on March 9th, how much did you miss out on?
1. On-chain Funds: $221M flowed into Hyperliquid last week; $186.7M flowed out of Arbitrum
2. Largest Price Swings: $DENT, $UAI
3. Top News: Middle East Conflict Sparks Stagflation Trading, Global Stock Markets Shed Around $6 Trillion

a16z: After AI Superpowers, Where to Next for Humanity?
Cryptocurrency will become the cornerstone of trust in this new era.

Why Does Oil Go Up When Bitcoin Goes Down?
The Impact of Middle Eastern Oil on Bitcoin Price

Decoding 112,000 Polymarket Addresses: The Top 1% Making Money Are Doing These Five Things
Those loss-making addresses are not stupid, just lacking discipline — too many markets involved, overexposure, excessive FOMO, and hardly any post-mortem.

AAVE founder issues a warning: DeFi must never become the exit liquidity for Wall Street private credit
In order for RWA to succeed in DeFi and for DeFi to achieve meaningful scale expansion through real-world assets, the entire industry needs to thoughtfully and cautiously build opportunities that connect TradFi (traditional finance) and on-chain markets.
How To Create A Frequency So Strong It Makes Reality Obey You
The first-ever WEEX AI Hackathon has concluded, with 10 winners emerging from over 200 global teams. Beyond its $1.8 million prize pool, the event marked a milestone—proving that the future of AI trading belongs to accessible, AI-powered innovation.

The cryptocurrency industry has waited for five and a half years, and what they got is half a ticket
The hand that opens this door is not the rule, but the direction of the wind.

The trend of Ethena reveals what information about the cryptocurrency market
Through Ethena's data insights: the collective hedging and self-protection of VCs and project parties is leading the crypto market into an extreme risk-averse moment of "complete balance between bulls and bears" for the first time in history.

I've been in the crypto industry for five and a half years, and all I got was half a ticket.
The hand that opens this door is not a rule, but a wind.

Crude Oil Surges 25%, Hyperliquid Unfolds On-Chain Showdown
Hyperliquid users now need to keep an eye on the latest developments in the Iran Hormuz Strait, while a DeFi OG is using on-chain derivatives to hedge against war risk.

$20 Billion Valuation, Is Kalshi Engaging in an Arms Race with Polymarket?
US-Iran Conflict + World Cup + Eve of Elections, Predicts Market Key Data Points to Reach New All-Time Highs in 2026.
WEEX Trade to Earn: Turn Futures Trading into Instant WXT Rewards
Join WEEX Trade to Earn and earn instant WXT rebates on every futures trade. Boost rewards with referrals and tasks. Trade more, earn more on WEEX exchange.
Trading Everything, Never Closing: RWA Perpetual Contracts (Part 1)
RWA perpetual contracts are trying to disrupt the traditional financial markets of costly zero-day options (0DTE) and opaque contracts for difference (CFD) with transparent on-chain "linear leverage."
Morning News | Nscale completes $2 billion Series C funding; 20 millionth Bitcoin has been mined; Polymarket will launch S&P 500 binary options products
Overview of Important Market Events on March 9
Dialogue between Vitalik and Suji: Why have decentralized social products failed?
Analyzing the dilemma of decentralized social networks should start from "solving social problems" rather than "overlaying crypto finance," exploring new opportunities for the integration of AI and prediction markets.
Trading Never Sleeps: On-Chain, Crude Oil, and Leverage
The prices in this window are determined by emotions, amplified by leverage, driven by the narrative of war—rather than by the supply and demand of crude oil.
On-chain Yield Panorama: The Evolution from Interest-bearing Stablecoins to Crypto Credit Products
In a bear market, investors tend to prefer more stable returns and lower underlying risks, which has driven the growth of interest-bearing stablecoins.