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Social Engineering Scams Hit Coinbase Users Hard: $65M Stolen, Actual Losses Likely Higher

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Over the past two months, Coinbase users have reported a surge in account restrictions, which appear linked to the company’s aggressive risk models and an ongoing wave of social engineering scams.

ZachXBT believes that the blame for the losses lies with Coinbase’s leadership, failing to report theft addresses, offer responsive support, and react swiftly to threats – issues rivals like Kraken and Binance manage far more effectively.

Coinbase’s Security Crisis

Popular pseudonymous on-chain investigator ZachXBT, alongside zeroShadow researcher ‘tanuki42,’ has uncovered that at least $65 million was stolen from Coinbase users through social engineering scams between December 2024 and January 2025.

Their findings, based on on-chain data analysis and victim reports received via direct messages, suggest the actual figure is likely much higher, as it does not account for cases reported directly to Coinbase or law enforcement.

The scams typically involve attackers posing as Coinbase support, using spoofed phone numbers and emails to gain victims’ trust, often leveraging personal data from private databases. Victims are tricked into transferring funds to compromised Coinbase Wallets and whitelisting fraudulent addresses.

One case involved a loss of $850,000, with the stolen funds consolidated alongside assets from over 25 other victims linked to the address ‘coinbase-hold.eth.’ ZachXBT attributed these scams to groups based in India and low-level cybercriminals from online communities like Com. He criticized Coinbase’s risk models and customer security measures, which he claims have failed to prevent over $300 million in annual losses to such fraud.

Leadership Inaction and Weak Support

In addition to rampant social engineering scams, ZachXBT claimed that Coinbase has quietly experienced several security incidents that were not publicly disclosed. These include breaches involving old API keys used for tax software, which were supposed to have read-only permissions but were compromised, and a recent bug that allowed verification codes to be sent to any email address, regardless of whether it was linked to an account.

In 2023, $15.9 million was stolen from Coinbase Commerce, and a threat actor laundered $38 million from the BTCTurk hack through Coinbase in just a few hours. The blame, according to the detective, largely falls on Coinbase’s leadership for systemic failures in security and customer response.

Theft-related addresses often go unreported in compliance tools for weeks, leaving gaps in fraud detection. Victims frequently encounter ineffective customer support, with little follow-up, and the company’s unavailability outside US hours is problematic for a global 24/7 market.

He further added that competitors such as Kraken, OKX, and Binance manage similar risks more effectively, Coinbase has failed to take decisive action against even low-level US-based threat actors with poor operational security. ZachXBT stated that the core issues stem from leadership decisions, not individual employees.

“Coinbase needs to urgently make changes as more and more users are being scammed for tens of millions every month. Other major exchanges do not have similar panels created by scammers for fraud. While the victims are partially responsible it’s unreasonable to expect elderly victims to understand the nuances of email/phone spoofing.”

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Major Cardano (ADA) Community Announcement: Details

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TL;DR

  • Cardano’s community overwhelmingly approved multi-million-dollar funding to support the further progress of the blockchain protocol.
  • Despite the news, ADA’s price remains in the red on a weekly scale, while analysts remain split on its future trajectory.

The Community Said ‘Yes’

Input Output Global, the core development team behind the Cardano blockchain, has been approved for funding for its protocol roadmap proposal. The sum equals roughly $71 million worth of ADA and will be taken from the Cardano treasurya fund that accumulates tokens over time and is used to finance ecosystem developments.

The proposal received overwhelming support, with 74% of voters clicking “yes.” Tim Harrison – EVP Community & Ecosystem at Input Output – described this as “a milestone moment” for Cardano and noted that this is the first time a core protocol development will be funded directly by the community.

“This vote of confidence empowers us to move forward with full transparency, shared responsibility, and a renewed commitment to building an open, resilient ecosystem,” Harrison added.

The team will use the capital to implement several key upgrades, including unlocking higher throughput without compromising security or decentralization, improving Cardano’s layer-2 scaling solution Hydra, laying the technical groundwork for more advanced smart contracts, reducing operational costs for stake pool operators, and more.

Ricky Rand (General Manager at Input Output) and Charles Hoskinson (co-founder of Cardano) also chipped in. The former said the securing of this funding is “just the start,” adding that the real work begins now. 

Hoskinson shared the news on his personal X account, expressing gratitude to the community for their support and trust. “Let’s get it done,” he added.

ADA Price Outlook

The news of the approved funding emerged over the weekend, but it didn’t trigger any price spike for Cardano’s native token. In fact, ADA briefly dipped below $0.70 on August 2 before rebounding slightly to its current level of $0.74 (per CoinGecko data).

ADA Price
ADA Price, Source: CoinGecko

The community is split in their predictions about the asset’s next potential move. Some believe the valuation could soon exceed $3 and tap a new all-time high of over $4.

Others like Ali Martinez, though, made more bearish forecasts. The popular analyst recently suggested that ADA could be poised for another correction as the TD Sequential indicator flashed a sell signal on the four-hour chart. 

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Will Bitcoin Hit $119K or Drop to $110K Next? Key Levels in Focus

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TL;DR

  • Bitcoin hovers near $115K, with resistance at $114.8K-$116.8K crucial for new all-time highs.
  • Weekend dip to $111,965 triggered $670 million futures losses, mostly from long positions.
  • Analysts warn a rejection could see Bitcoin retest the $110K-$112K accumulation support zone.
  • Mining difficulty hits 127.6 trillion; historical August patterns suggest potential volatility ahead.

Price Movement and Market Reaction

Bitcoin (BTC) traded jumped to $115,000 on Monday after rebounding from a weekend dip to around $111,965. The drop followed Friday’s U.S. jobs data, which fueled recession concerns in the United States. Over the last 24 hours, the cryptocurrency recorded a trading volume of $29 billion.

Data from Coinglass showed that the sudden decline led to about $670 million in losses from perpetual futures positions, with long positions accounting for over $550 million. Despite the slight 1% gain in the past 24 hours, Bitcoin remains down 3% for the week.

Crucial Resistance Levels at $114.8K and $116.8K

Analyst Michaël van de Poppe said, 

“Bitcoin is doing great. It’s back up to the first crucial resistance zone and green light for a new ATH. Breaking through this area isn’t a guarantee of a new ATH, but a good first step.” 

He pointed to $114.8K as the first level to clear and $116.8K as the second. A move above these zones could put $119.5K in focus for an all-time high test.

He also warned that a failure to break above the current zone could send the price back toward the $110K–$112K range. This area is seen by many traders as a strong support zone where buyers may step in before any attempt at a larger rally.

Market Structure and Price Gaps

Ted noted

“$BTC now has a CME gap between $113.5K-$114K. Most of these CME gaps are filled, so expect a dip below $114K.” 

This leaves room for a small pullback before any push higher.

Daan Crypto Trades observed that Bitcoin often sets its monthly high or low within the first week of each month. He said, 

“The current move from high to low is also just ~3.6%. There’s a very high likelihood we make a larger move this month.” 

The analyst added that in past years, months in uptrends often saw a flush lower early in the month, followed by a climb.

Bitcoin price chart
Source: X

Network and Broader Outlook

As CryptoPotato reported, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty hit a new peak at 127.6 trillion this week as network computing power rose. 

Robert Kiyosaki also shared a cautious view, suggesting Bitcoin could fall toward $90,000. He cited the asset’s history of sharp August declines as a reason for the warning.

With Bitcoin holding near $114K-$116K, traders are focused on whether it can break through resistance for an all-time high attempt or pull back to retest lower support levels.

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UK Bans Coinbase’s ‘Everything Is Fine’ Ad: CEO Says It Exposes Flaws in Finance

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Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has responded to the backlash surrounding the company’s latest advertisement for the UK market.

He clarified that the video was not intended as a political statement, but rather as a reflection of the deeper issues within the traditional financial system.

The Controversial Campaign

The U.S.-based exchange recently posted an advertisement on July 31 via X, criticizing the UK’s financial system. Titled ‘Everything Is Fine’, the video features a cheerful song and lyrics that brag about the UK’s strong finances, while showing harsh scenes of inflation, poverty, debt, and people struggling to get by.

Meant as a satirical depiction of the state of things, it starts with the line, “We ain’t got no troubles. No reason to complain,” while broken homes and poor people appear on the screen. The song continues, “The streets can’t get no cleaner. Nor the rat meat any leaner. No. Life is just as great,” as dirty streets flash across the screen. The video also makes fun of how expensive things have become in the UK.

However, on August 4, Armstrong took to X, claiming the ad had been “banned in the UK by the TV networks,” suggesting it had been censored because it carried an element of truth.

“If you can’t say it, then there must be a kernel of truth in it.”

Some individuals and politicians have criticized the campaign, arguing that it is a political statement intended to discredit the current government and make Britain a laughingstock.

However, the executive explained that calling for updates to the system and societal improvements wasn’t meant to be a political statement about any party in the UK. He also clarified that the clip wasn’t specific to the country, mentioning that the firm had also run ads with similar themes in the U.S..

Crypto As a Fix For Broken Systems

According to Armstrong, the point of the clip was to highlight how the traditional financial system is failing many people and how crypto offers a way to address the issue. He added that some people in the UK still view the asset class as “some kind of gambling product,” which he described as a very outdated perspective that ignores its real potential to improve conditions for everyone.

The executive concluded by welcoming criticism and censorship efforts, saying they only help the message spread further.

The controversial campaign comes at a time when 20.3 million people in the UK, which is 44% of all adults, are living in financially unstable conditions. According to a recent report by Fair4All Finance, this represents a 16% increase since 2022, driven by factors such as unstable incomes, limited savings, poor health, and job loss.

Meanwhile, experts say the UK is falling behind in creating clear rules for crypto. A July report from independent think tank OMFIF says that the country continues to make vague promises about future rules in what it described as “policy procrastination,” warning that the EU and U.S. are now leading the way.

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