Coinbase Hacking Rocks Firm That Led Crypto Into Mainstream

Attack Could Cost Firm $519 Million; News Comes Days After Its Addition to S&P 500 Index

- 

SAN FRANCISCO — On the long list of crypto companies that have been hacked, there are plenty of examples of financial losses that are much more painful than what Coinbase Global appears to be facing from the attack it disclosed on May 15.

Yet this one stands out for significance far beyond the US$400 million (S$519 million) the company expects it will cost: This time, the victim was arguably the most influential US company in the industry.

Coinbase is the firm that led the digital asset industry’s march into the mainstream financial system as the first publicly traded crypto exchange. It is the company that safeguards the lion’s share of the US$122 billion worth of tokens owned by spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). And it is the firm that did much of the heavy lifting when it came to the industry’s campaign spending spree to send a platoon of pro-crypto lawmakers to Washington in 2025.

Indeed, the revelation of the hacking comes just three days after the company’s crowning achievement in mainstreaming crypto with its addition to the S&P 500 Index, a development that will land its shares into trillions of dollars worth of retirement plans and other investment products that track the benchmark gauge.

The hacking, plus subsequent news of a lingering Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into how the company reported its number of users, sent the shares down more than 7 per cent on May 15.