US DOJ To Investigate Coinbase Hack Amid S&P Debut

The Coinbase hack saga continues following a breaking development about the US Justice Department’s plans to open an investigation into the data breach against the top crypto exchange. This follows the company’s debut on the S&P 500, with the COIN stock price closing the day in the red.

US Justice Department To Investigate Coinbase Hack

According to a Bloomberg report, the US DOJ has opened a probe into the recent data breach at crypto exchange Coinbase. Investigators, including those in the department’s criminal division in Washington, are reportedly digging into the events that led to the breach.

As CoinGape reported last week, the top crypto exchange suffered a cyberattack. The criminals allegedly bribed and recruited rogue customer service agents overseas to gain access to users’ personal data.

The company claimed that the hackers didn’t gain access to any sensitive data. Meanwhile, the exchange promised to reimburse affected customers of the Coinbase hack. Additionally, they launched a $20 million reward to track down the exploiters, who had blackmailed them for the said amount in exchange for not releasing the data.

The Coinbase data breach affected top executives, including Sequoia Capital’s Roelof Botha. Meanwhile, exchanges Binance and Kraken reportedly also faced similar incidents. Crypto millionaires have moved to hire bodyguards following the hack. The exchange is also facing up to six lawsuits due to the compromised user personal data.

Exchange Debuts On S&P 500

Amid the launch of the probe into the Coinbase hack, the exchange debuted on the S&P 500 today, becoming the first and only crypto company to achieve this milestone. CoinGape reported last week that the crypto exchange would replace Discover Financial Services, following Capital One’s acquisition of the latter.

Despite the debut, the COIN stock price closed the day in the red, trading at around $263. The stock rebounded to this price level last Friday following the crash on May 15 due to reports of the data breach and the ongoing SEC investigation into alleged misleading user numbers in past disclosures.

The exchange’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, confirmed that they are cooperating with the SEC on the investigation, although he believes it shouldn’t continue. Meanwhile, concerning the Coinbase hack, Grewal also revealed that they have notified and are working with the DOJ and other US and international law enforcement agencies.