Coinbase reverses $20m ransom demand by putting $20m bounty on the thieves

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has responded to a $20 million ransom demand from cyber criminals by using that money to place a bounty on the thieves instead.

Coinbase has refused to negotiate with the cyber-thieves after they threatened to release customer information.

On May 15, Coinbase revealed that overseas agents had allegedly been bribed to steal customer data including names, emails, government ID images, phone numbers and addresses.

Although login credentials weren’t stolen and customer funds were safe, with the information acquired, the alleged thieves could trick unsuspecting users into giving up their Crypto by pretending to be Coinbase through social engineering attacks.

The attackers demanded $20 million in Bitcoin in exchange for not releasing the data, but instead of paying, Coinbase is going on the offensive.

Coinbase refuses $20M ransom demand from cyber thieves

Coinbase says it will reimburse anyone affected by the attacks and will be using the $20 million the thieves demanded as a reward leading to their arrest.

According to the company’s CEO Brian Armstrong, less than one percent of Coinbase’s monthly active users were affected, but that won’t stop them from seeking justice.

“This is still unacceptable,” he said in a video posted to X. “Instead of paying the $20M ransom, we’re turning it around. We’re putting out a $20M reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of these attackers.”