Coinbase Attributes Customer Data Leak to Third-Party Vendor Amplitude, Denies Direct Breach

• Coinbase has denied experiencing a direct system breach, attributing the exposure of user personal information to a security incident involving third-party analytics vendor Amplitude.
• The move has drawn sharp criticism from the crypto community, with users accusing the exchange of evading accountability for the compromised data.

Coinbase, a publicly traded American cryptocurrency exchange, recently sought to clarify its stance regarding a potential security breach. This comes following reports of sensitive user details being leaked by a third-party entity.

Coinbase Points to Amplitude in Customer Info Leak

On Wednesday, Coinbase clarified that its internal systems had not been breached. However, the company acknowledged that an information leak exposed the contact details of a “small subset” of its customers through an analytics vendor. Coinbase blamed the incident on Amplitude, an event-based product and digital analytics platform.

Specific details regarding the Amplitude incident remain limited. Both the exchange and the vendor have declined to disclose the full scope of the exposure. However, subsequent reports suggest that unauthorized actors obtained the full names and email addresses of certain users, which were subsequently used to target them with phishing campaigns.

In its official statement, Coinbase asserted that it found no evidence of unauthorized access to its internal systems. Crucially, the company emphasized that customer funds remained secure and unaffected by the incident.

Coinbase further noted that it has already notified the affected users and relevant regulatory bodies in compliance with its legal and regulatory obligations.

Community Response

The announcement sparked significant backlash, with irate users flocking to Coinbase Support’s official social media channels. Critics questioned why the exchange continues to deny accountability, given that the decision to share customer data with a third-party vendor was its own.

Community members argued that regardless of how Coinbase frames the incident, the third-party contractor it hired was compromised. This allowed malicious actors to obtain data that the exchange itself had provided to Amplitude. Under this view, a data breach did occur, and Coinbase bears the responsibility for safeguarding user information, particularly when sharing it with external parties.

Adding to the concern were reports of targeted phishing attempts. Several users claimed to have received emails purporting to be from Coinbase with the subject line “Update about your transactions statement.” These messages were designed to deceive unsuspecting customers into surrendering their login credentials or authorizing malicious transactions under the guise of routine administrative updates or regulatory compliance.

AI Accelerating Phishing Activities

Adaptive Security, an enterprise-grade cybersecurity solutions provider, has warned that phishing trends in 2026 are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence (AI). This shift is highly visible in automated messaging and agent interactions powered by the technology. Alarmingly, highly personalized lures have proven to dramatically increase click-through rates compared to those crafted manually by humans.

According to the company’s July report, global phishing losses have already surpassed $25 billion annually, with businesses accounting for $3 billion of the total reported losses.

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