Coinbase, the largest virtual asset exchange in the United States, was hacked and major customer information was leaked.

According to major foreign media such as Bloomberg on the 15th (local time), Coinbase told U.S. regulators that its system was hacked and customer data was stolen.

Coinbase, the largest virtual asset exchange in the United States, was hacked and major customer information was leaked.

According to major foreign media such as Bloomberg on the 15th (local time), Coinbase told U.S. regulators that its system was hacked and customer data was stolen.

According to Coinbase, he explained that the hacker informed him of the information on the customer's account on the 11th and demanded money in exchange for not disclosing the stolen data.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted a video on his X account and said, "Hackers demanded $20 million worth of Bitcoin."

According to Coinbase, the hacked information is the customer's name, mail and email address, phone number, and the last four digits of the user's social security number (SNS). It also took hidden bank account numbers, some bank identification information, and government-issued identification cards from customers such as driver's licenses and passports. The stolen data also included account balance data and transaction details.

Coinbase said some company data, including internal documents, had also been stolen and that it would not pay the money demanded by the hackers.

"Hacker obtained this information by buying employees of several contractors outside the United States who had access to our internal systems for work or employees in support roles," Coinbase said. The employees of the company are no longer employed, he added.

The company said, "The Coinbase system has detected malicious activity over the past few months," adding, "The hacker has informed customers who may have stolen information to prevent misuse of the leaked information."

Coinbase expects about $180 million (251.7 billion won) to $400 million (559.4 billion won) in costs related to recovery and customer compensation from the hack.

The incident occurred ahead of Coinbase's inclusion in the S&P 500 index, a benchmark index for the U.S. stock market. S&P Dow Jones Indices, which operates the S&P 500 index, announced on the 12th that Coinbase will be incorporated into the S&P 500 index from the 19th. As a result, Coinbase's stock price soared 24% on the 13th. Coinbase's stock price plunged 7.20 percent from the previous day on the New York Stock Exchange on the day of the hacking incident.

[Silicon Valley = Lee Deok-ju Correspondent]