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Users call for Coinbase boycott after $1.36M deal with US government

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Disgruntled cryptocurrency users are lobbying to boycott Coinbase, which inked a crucial deal with the United States Homeland Security to provide the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement branch with blockchain analytics software.

Earlier, the US Securities and Exchange Commission sent shockwaves threatening to sue the Brain Armstrong-led crypto exchange over its high-interest ‘Lend’ offerings. The crypto community came out in support of the exchange, with many drawing parallels to the blockchain firm Ripple’s ongoing legal battle. However, #deletecoinbase soon began to trend following what is being perceived as the platform’s largest deal ever with the Feds by signing a $1.36 million contract to offer ICE financial surveillance software.

According to reports, Homeland Security has offered the contract mentioned above to the exchange citing “business application” and “application development software.”

Coinbase’s controversial acquisition and other mishaps

Coinbase has a long history of collaboration with the United States government. And this isn’t the first controversy related to surveillance that the exchange giant has found itself embroiled in. In fact, among a series of perceived mishaps by Coinbase was the infamous Neutrino acquisition back in 2019 for $13.5 million.

A few team members of Neutrino were linked to the infamous Italian organization called Hacking Team, which sold spyware to countries like Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Venezuela. Even as Armstrong admitted that the acquisition was a mistake, the damage was already done. Jesse Powell, who happens to be the CEO of the rival exchange Kraken, also pointed out and called the acquisition “bizarre.”

Among other such deals, the US Secret Service stands out to license its Coinbase Analytics tools. Under this, the law enforcement agency may use the crypto platform’s blockchain forensics tool last until May 2024.

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What’s privacy?

It is important to note that many in the cryptocurrency community already hate blockchain surveillance companies. By the latest actions, it appears that the US government has moved over platforms such as Chainalysis and other such firms.

Time and again, privacy advocates have argued that these entities are laying the groundwork for additional forms of mass surveillance. Despite a huge uproar, these companies that offer services to track, gather and analyze cryptocurrency payments on the blockchain are growing fast—naturally, Coinbase’s latest move to help the government to do the same faced hostile reception.

Alex Gladstein, the CSO at the Human Rights Foundation and one of the most vocal critics of blockchain analytics firms, stated,

“Like, this isn’t very much money for Coinbase in the grand scheme of things. Strange that they would risk so much reputationally for such a relatively small sum.”

Coinbase declares $1.5 billion bond sale to bolster its balance sheet

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Prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase made immense news after it managed to get itself listed on Nasdaq. With an array of developments, the exchange managed to stay relevant and on top. Once again, the crypto platform has made it to the headlines after revealing that it intends to raise a whopping $1.5 billion through a debt offering.

Throughout the year, Coinbase was seen making the rounds on Twitter following its tiff with its own customers. Despite this, the crypto platform continued to jump on the progress train. Even though several platforms have come under the scrutiny of regulators, Coinbase has retained itself as the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States.

The Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] of the US did not spare anyone. Just last week, the SEC threatened the exchange. The SEC revealed that it wants to press legal charges over its latest crypto lending feature. While the fervency around this persists, the exchange went on to move to the next level.

Coinbase intends to raise money via a debt offering

In its most recent announcement, the platform stated that it hopes to raise capital in order to bolster its growth as well as its balance sheet. While this move would aid its general corporate purposes, it would also pose beneficial for future investments as well as acquisitions, products along technology of other platforms.

A private offering memorandum would be offered to qualified institutional buyers. The post further read,

“The notes and the related guarantee will only be offered and sold by means of a private offering memorandum to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers. [..] Neither the notes nor the related guarantee have been, or will be, registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction, and unless so registered, may not be offered or sold in the United States, except pursuant to an applicable exemption from such registration requirements.”

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong accuses SEC of “sketchy behavior “

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The SEC hasn’t been kind to the cryptocurrency industry. This time, the watchdogs have targetted Coinbase. According to the new blog post, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has warned that it will sue the digital asset exchange if it rolls out a new lending product. As a result, Coinbase would postpone the launch of its ‘Lend’ product until at least October.

Paul Grewal, who happens to be the Chief Legal Officer, maintains that Coinbase has been engaging proactively with the SEC about Lend for nearly six months. The exec also added that the trading platform has been eager to hear their perspective as they lookout for innovative ways for its customers to obtain more financial empowerment on Coinbase.

“Specifically for Lend, we’re seeking to allow eligible customers to earn interest on select assets on Coinbase, starting with 4% APY on USD Coin (USDC). We could have simply launched the product but we chose not to. This is far from the norm in our industry. Other crypto companies have had lending products on the market for years, and new lending products continue to launch as recently as last month.”

Coinbase detailed that its new Lend program cannot be categorized as a security or an investment contract or a note. Here, the users will not be “investing” in the program, but instead “lending the stablecoin USDC they hold on Coinbase’s platform in connection with their existing relationship.”

The blog penned down by Grewal also noted,

“And although Lend customers will earn interest from their participation in the program, we have an obligation to pay this interest regardless of Coinbase’s broader business activities. What’s more, participating customers’ principal is secure and we’re obligated to repay their USDC on request.”

Coinbase CEO says SEC’s behaviour is sketchy

Brian Armstrong, the CEO of the Nasdaq listed exchange revealed reaching out to SEC before launching Lend. However, the authority responded by telling them that the lend feature is security. When asked to share their view, Armstrong accused the SEC of refusing to clarify instead subpoena records from them and went on to demand testimony from the company’s employees.

The exec also urged the SEC to publish guidance in order to provide more clarity and enforce it evenly across the industry. However, the watchdog resorting to “refusing to offer any opinion” and “and instead are engaging in intimidation tactics behind closed door” has irked Armstrong who also added,

“Whatever their theory is here, it feels like a reach/land grab vs other regulators. Shutting these down would arguably be harming consumers more than protecting them, and by preventing Coinbase from launching the same thing that other companies already have live, they’re creating an unfair market.”

Coinbase users left in angst [again] following an email regarding 2FA

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USA’s top crypto platform, Coinbase has once again got into trouble with its customers. The exchange garnered immense popularity over the year, however, the platform was also shown in a bad light following several glitches.

This prominent cryptocurrency exchange caught the eye of many following its decision to go public. While this move was lauded by many, Coinbase continued experiencing constant troubles with regard to its platform. Last week, the users of the platform expressed anger after they abruptly lost funds and customer support failed to respond. Just as the exchange was recovering from this recent glitch, another one presented itself.

Coinbase came forward and revealed that it had accidentally sent an email to over 125,000 customers regarding their two-factor authentication [2FA] process.

Coinbase’s email mishap

An array of users were left in a state of panic after Coinbase sent an email to its users about how their 2FA settings were changed. Customers noted that they were alarmed that someone had accessed their account. The exchange garnered immense backlash for this move which further drove the exchange to publicly apologize for the mishap.

In an array of tweets, the crypto platform revealed that it had recognized the issue and fixed it. The tweets read,

“Yesterday, from 1:45pm PST to 3:07pm PST, Coinbase sent roughly 125,000 customers erroneous notifications that their 2FA settings had changed.”

“We’re laser focused on building trust and security into the crypto community so that the open financial system we all want is a reality. We recognize that issues like this can hurt that trust.”

This didn’t seem to have subsided the frenzy around the email. Users continued expressing fear of being hacked and they went on to change their passwords.

A few others were facing a whole different issue where they couldn’t get into the app as it repeatedly suggested that there were issues with connection.

Coinbase bags new chief marketing officer from Facebook

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Prominent cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase has been under fire following its recent tiff with its users. This did not stop the exchange from moving forward and making progress. In a recent development, the exchange went on to hire its latest chief marketing officer.

Coinbase was called out by an array of users after their funds disappeared without an explanation. Despite this abrupt loss of funds the lack of customer support was what angered the users. The crypto exchange received a lot of backlash for this move. Moving on and focusing on the marketing side of the company, Coinbase decided to recruit Kate Rouch, who was previously working for Facebook.

The exchange welcomed Rouch and revealed her role in the potential development of the platform.

Coinbase recruits former Facebook exec

In its latest blog post, Emilie Choi, the platform’s chief operating officer, went on to welcome Rouch into the company and noted that she would be responsible for looking after the platform’s global brand. Along with this, product, as well as performance marketing, would be overseen by Rouch.

Rouch served Facebook for over 11 years. Now bidding adieu to her role as the global head of brand and product marketing at the social media platform, she was hired by one of the USA’s most prominent exchanges.

Speaking about her latest position, Rouch stated,

“I am so inspired by what I’ve learned about crypto, and the vast ecosystem it is helping to usher forth. At its core, Coinbase is about creating more economic freedom for people. It is a mission I feel passionately about. I can’t wait to get started helping to introduce millions more people to the benefits of crypto.”

Additionally, Rouch hopes to bring millions of more people into the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Several people from prominent firms have been venturing into the crypto space. This further points out the rate at which the crypto-verse is growing.

Coinbase Users Continue Berating Exchange for Poor Support and Fund Mismanagement

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The growth of the digital asset world resulted in its peripheral industries picking up steam from all directions. Apart from the updates and developments, the cryptoverse has also been witness to news reports involving exchanges mishandling user funds. Coinbase came under fire for the same reason recently when multiple users raised complaints on Twitter.

Since 2016, Coinbase has had over 11,000 tickets raised against it. Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong mentioned the ongoing stalemate by claiming people don’t need to be scared of crypto like the old days. This however did not change the fact that thousands of new users have held the exchange culpable to massive fund losses.

In a report about Coinbase’s reaction towards the complaints, CNBC mentioned:

“Interviews with Coinbase customers around the country and a review of thousands of complaints reveal a pattern of account takeovers, where users see money suddenly vanish from their accounts, followed by poor customer service from Coinbase that made those users feel left hanging and angry.

Some reports from earlier this year touched on cases of funds mysteriously disappearing from their accounts. Just this March, a user sued Coinbase after losing over $100,000 from their cryptocurrency savings. This was one of several cases with some still unsolved.

Large groups of the cryptocurrency community pointed out that Coinbase only took up the complaints brought up by users with a significant number of followers. The Brian Armstrong-led exchange has reverted to some individual complaints. According to policy, Coinbase’s insurance policy does not cover theft from said accounts.

Coinbase sinks in troubled waters after users complain about missing funds

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One of the USA’s most prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase made immense news this year. While that was all for the right reasons, the exchange found its way under the bad light after an array of complaints from its users began to surface.

Several Coinbase users were seen expressing their displeasure over the loss of funds from their accounts. Over a thousand users had filed complaints against the cryptocurrency exchange, according to a CNBC investigation. Per the statements, the customers’ accounts were allegedly hacked.

While hacks and attacks on crypto platforms are quite common in the crypto-verse, the customers were furious after the exchange failed to respond to the queries of the users. In an interview conducted by CNBC, several customers came forward to share their experience with Coinbase’s recent glitch.

The interview reportedly shed light on,

“Interviews with Coinbase customers around the country and a review of thousands of complaints reveal a pattern of account takeovers, where users see money suddenly vanish from their account, followed by poor customer service from Coinbase that made those users feel left hanging and angry.”

Coinbase’s latest blip

The crypto platform found its way under the spotlight after it decided to go public. Seems like this was soon diminished by the exchange’s customer service. Following the loss of funds, an array of people tried to reach out to the exchange, however, the exchange paid no heed.

Tanja Vidovic, a user of the crypto platform revealed that she had lost nearly $168K in crypto. She noted that she was bombarded with notifications about someone trying to change her access to the account.

Speaking about how she got into the crypto industry, Vidovic said,

“I looked into Coinbase, and it seemed like it was one that everybody used and trusted. I signed onto the crypto. And I said, ‘It’s gone.”

Another Twitter user stated,

Coinbase launches in Japan after partnering with Tokyo-based banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ

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One of the world’s top crypto exchanges, Coinbase has teamed up with banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group [MUFG] that serves over 40 million customers to expand its footprint all the way to Japan. According to the official announcement, the launch of its Japanese arm is a part of its global strategy.

Initially, the Brian Armstrong-led crypto firm will rollout retail products that include the five top assets on the basis of the trading volume. The platform, however, has not revealed which assets will be listed. Eventually, it will introduce more digital assets and products and launch “localized versions” of some of its popular services such as advanced trading, Coinbase for Institutions, etc.

The official blog post also stated,

“Today we are excited to be launching Coinbase in Japan, one of the first countries to embrace crypto and one of the largest markets by crypto trading volumes in the world.”

Coinbase Japan targets both retail and institutional investors

Coinbase had been eyeing the Japanese market for quite some time now. As a matter of fact, the crypto exchange reportedly sought a license approval from the country’s financial regulator the Financial Services Authority [FSA] back in October 2019. A few months later, it firm registered as a crypto exchange after receiving a green signal from the FSA. Additionally, it also registered as a second-class member with Japan’s self-regulatory organization called Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association [JVCEA]

Besides, the all-new Coinbase Japan not only aims to attract retail customers but also plans to cater to institutions if there is a rising demand for institutional-grade services in the country.

Nao Kitazawa, who happens to be the head of Coinbase Japan and a former Morgan Stanley banker had stated along the same line and emphasised the increasing number of institutional investors who have expressed interest in the latest initiative. The exec also revealed that if need be, Coinbase Japan would hire staff for institutional investors.

Coinbase has acquired another crypto platform for an undisclosed amount

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Prominent crypto exchange, Coinbase dominated the crypto market throughout the year. The exchange was a constant visitor of the headlines as it made news for an array of developments. Acquisitions were on top of the list as the platform went on to bag several platforms. The streak has persisted as the exchange has yet again acquired a crypto aggregator firm.

Coinbase has had a great year. From going public to making numerous partnerships, the exchange managed to secure a spot under the crypto spotlight. While 2020 was filled with negativity for the exchange, following the constant outrages in the firm particularly during peak volatility periods, 2021 panned out to be better.

In more recent news, the exchange went on to acquire Zabo, a cryptocurrency aggregator service provider.

Coinbase prolongs its hotstreak

An announcement revealed that Coinbase had initiated the process of bagging Zabo. The Dallas-based platform offers an array of services including data integration of prominent wallets and exchanges. Zabo entered the market back in 2018 and has a close association with the crypto exchange, Kraken which is considered as one of Coinbase’s rivals.

The co-founder of Zabo, Alex Treece elaborated on the latest partnership and stated,

“Zabo unlocked something truly magical: making it incredibly simple and easy to connect cryptocurrency accounts and finally unify users’ complete financial picture. We are very excited to join Coinbase, which has done more than perhaps any other company in advancing the mission of bringing cryptocurrency mainstream.”

Additionally, the co-founder noted how the firm had advanced over the last three years and came out strong while establishing Zabo API which is reportedly the “world’s most powerful tool for connecting to any crypto exchange, wallet, protocol or account.”

From this latest news, it can be inferred that Coinbase’s buying spree hadn’t stopped. The exchange continues to dominate the crypto space amidst immense pressure from the regulators.

Coinbase CEO reacts to DOGE creator’s recent outburst

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The members of the crypto-verse always have cover for the industry. Coinbase’s CEO and co-founder, Brian Armstrong’s latest set of tweets is a significant example of the same.

Just last week, Jackson Palmer, the Dogecoin [DOGE] creator, took to Twitter to reveal why he would never return to the crypto industry. While elaborating on this, Palmer went on to diss the crypto-verse by suggesting that the crypto industry was nothing but an “inherently right-wing, hyper-capitalistic technology.” Talking about the scarcity of certain assets, he noted that they were “artificially enforced.” he also stated that the market was formulated to steer away from tax and regulatory oversight.

This undoubtedly stirred some heat in the market. Coinbase’s CEO, however, dealt with it in a composed manner and tweeted to Palmer, saying everything depended on one’s perspective.

Coinbase’s CEO highlights: “Crypto is a much needed breath of fresh air”

In an array of tweets, the Coinbase CEO suggested how certain people rely on the government for solutions. This, in turn, gives the fiat system the upper hand. Speaking about the other category, Armstrong stated,

“2/ If you believe government solutions are often inefficient, overpromise/underdeliver, and come with unintended consequences, and that personal responsibility mixed with free markets will create better outcomes for everyone, then crypto is a much needed breath of fresh air.”

Furthermore, Armstrong reminded Palmer and his followers how free markets were very “messy.” Breakthroughs happen only after going over a lot of bad ideas, he added. Elaborating on accredited investor laws, the Coinbase CEO tweeted,

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He went on to credit Bitcoin’s ability in making people wealthy to this law. The fact that BTC wasn’t a security-enabled people to pour into it from the very beginning.

In addition to this, he noted how crypto wasn’t here to eliminate wealth inequality. Instead, the market was focused on creating “wealth mobility” as well as “equality of opportunity. It levels the playing field, at least to some degree.”

He concluded with,

“9/ Crypto is simply providing an alternative for people who want more freedom. Everyone can make their own choice, and that is probably a good thing.”