Coinbase data breach could actually ‘lead to people dying’

TechCrunch’s founder, Michael Arrington, said Coinbase’s recent data breach “will lead to people dying.” According to him,  executives who don’t “adequately protect” customer information should go to jail.

The venture capitalist said, “Something that has to be said though – this hack – which includes home addresses and account balances – will lead to people dying. It probably has already.”

I am a long time investor in and champion of @coinbase. Something that has to be said though – this hack – which includes home addresses and account balances – will lead to people dying. It probably has already. The human cost, denominated in misery, is much larger than the $400m… pic.twitter.com/ruSYKAGH7x

— Michael Arrington 🏴‍☠️ (@arrington) May 19, 2025

As Cryptopolitan reported, Coinbase confirmed a data breach that exposed the personal information of some customers. These customers included well-known people in the tech field. Cybercriminals bribed customer service reps in other countries to get access to sensitive user data without permission. 

The hackers tried to force Coinbase to pay $20 million in Bitcoin over stolen customer data, but the exchange refused. Coinbase revealed this on Thursday. Instead, the company offered a $20 million reward for any information to help catch and convict the attackers. 

Michael Arrington accuses Coinbase of using the cheapest option for customer service

Michael Arrington said regulators should think again about the importance of “know-your-customer” (KYC). He added, “Very disappointed in Coinbase right now. Using the cheapest option for customer service has its price. And Coinbase’s customers will bear that cost.”

He also said that problems like these will keep happening because of KYC and other laws that make it easy for hackers to get away with their crimes. He added that the government and businesses need to do something to stop this.

However, Balaji Srinivasan, the former chief technology officer of Coinbase, disagreed with Arrington’s view that leaders should be punished. He said regulators are forcing KYC on companies that don’t want to do it.

Crypto kidnappings are on the rise

Digital assets are increasingly linked to real-world heists. It reminds investors why keeping crypto private is essential. Last November, three teens kidnapped a man in Las Vegas after a crypto event he put on and held him hostage at his home with a gun. 

He was pushed into a car and taken out into the desert. Attackers got into his crypto wallets and stole $4 million worth of cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

This year also has a share of kidnappings. In January, a group of thieves broke into the home of David Balland, co-founder of Ledger, in Vierzon, France. They took Balland and his wife hostage, beat them up, and cut off one of Balland’s fingers to get to his crypto wallet keys.

After the attack, the thieves called another co-founder of Ledger and demanded a ransom. Police arrested 10 suspects.

In addition, a famous streamer and OnlyFans personality named Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa had her home broken into by three armed men in March. They beat her up and told her to send them her Bitcoin. Luckily for her, she could fire her gun, which made the attackers run away.

As recent as this month, the father of a crypto millionaire was kidnapped in broad daylight on the streets of Paris. French cops were able to free him. It was said that the kidnappers wanted a ransom of €5 million to €7 million. The attackers cut off one of the man’s fingers as a cruel way to get him to obey. Police arrested five suspects.

Because of these and other events, a physical security company in Amsterdam told Bloomberg that it had seen a rise in clients with big amounts of crypto before the Coinbase breach.

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