David Plouffe previously worked as an adviser for Alchemy Pay, Binance, former President Barack Obama's and former Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaigns. David Plouffe, who worked as an adviser on former US Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign, will be joining Coinbase’s Global Advisory Council. In a Thursday notice, Coinbase said Plouffe would join former lawmakers, industry leaders, and others on the company’s advisory council, seemingly to advise the exchange on policies moving forward in the US and abroad, as well as its role in future elections. The appointment of Plouffe to the council marked one of his first roles in crypto and policy since leaving Harris’ campaign. “It’s important to understand that someone who holds crypto or stablecoin, that might not be the most important issue to them voting,” Plouffe said at Coinbase’s State of Crypto Summit, adding: Read more
The US president has spoken in person at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville and released a video message for the Digital Asset Summit in New York City. US President Donald Trump released a prerecorded message for attendees of Coinbase’s State of Crypto Summit as Congress considers legislation to regulate payment stablecoins and establish a digital asset market structure framework. In his second message directly addressing a crypto conference since becoming president in January, Trump said he was “not done” implementing crypto policies in the US government. These, according to the president, have included efforts through executive orders to establish a national Bitcoin (BTC) reserve, creating a working group on digital assets and nominating Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). “My administration is working with Congress to pass the GENIUS Act supporting the creation of dollar-backed stablecoins, and we also will be working to create clear and simple market frameworks that wi...
A Coinbase insider scandal exposed 70,000 users’ personal data, triggering debates on rethinking crypto’s KYC systems. Coinbase’s recent data breach is prompting renewed calls to remove Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements in licensed cryptocurrency exchanges. Illicit actors bribed the exchange’s overseas customer service agents in December 2024 to gain access to the personal information of 70,000 users. In May, Coinbase admitted that hackers had obtained data such as government-issued ID photos and home addresses. “All this security theater needs to be abolished asap. Time and again it only benefits hackers and extortionists,” said pseudonymous developer Banteg on X. “KYC actually enables crime.” Read more
US government argues Coinbase user James Harper has no right to block IRS access to his crypto records in Supreme Court filing. The US government has urged the Supreme Court not to take up a Coinbase user’s challenge against the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) effort to obtain his crypto transaction records. In a filing dated May 30, Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that Coinbase user James Harper has no Fourth Amendment right to shield his financial records held by the exchange. The government claimed that Harper “voluntarily” shared his data with Coinbase, and that the IRS followed proper legal procedures to obtain it through a judicially approved summons. Read more
Strong demand from US-based investors sends Bitcoin’s Coinbase premium on a 20-day streak, and chart technicals hint at a rally to $118,000. Key takeaways: A 20-day Bitcoin Coinbase Premium streak signals strong institutional investor and retail investor interest. Falling BTC inflows from short- and long-term holders reduce downside risk. Read more
Crypto exchange terms of services you agreed to, but never read, prevent class actions and limit liability if your data or funds are stolen. Coinbase is facing a flurry of lawsuits after disclosing a data breach that compromised nearly 70,000 customer accounts, with estimated losses reaching as high as $400 million. The exchange says overseas customer support agents were bribed into helping scammers gain unauthorized access to user data in December. The company disclosed the attack to the public in May. There were some reports that Coinbase had updated its user agreement just before announcing the breach, with critics accusing the company of adding an arbitration clause that limits class actions. Coinbase maintains that a class action waiver has long been part of its terms. Read more
A major Coinbase breach occurred in 2025 with insiders involved. Coinbase responded differently and the extortion failed. Coinbase, America’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, received an unsolicited email from an unknown threat actor on May 11, 2025. They claimed to possess sensitive information about its customers and demanded a ransom of $20 million. Before examining the breach, it is interesting to understand how it happened at a public company that spends millions monthly on cybersecurity. In February, blockchain investigator ZachXBT reported increased thefts involving Coinbase users. He blamed aggressive risk models and pointed out Coinbase’s failure to prevent $300 million in yearly losses from social engineering scams. Read more