Leading US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has recently claimed it has never shared any “personally identifiable” customer data, in the aftermath of a campaign against it prompted by the controversial acquisition of blockchain analytics firm Neutrino.
According to CoinDesk, a company spokesperson clarified that it has “never shard” its customers’ “personally identifiable information with any third-party blockchain analysis vendors.
The clarification came after Coinbase’s director of institutional sales, Christine Sandler, justified the acquisition of Neutrino during an interview with Cheddar by saying the company’s previous analytics provider sold “client data to outside sources.” Per CoinDesk’s report, Coinbase claims Sandler misspoke.
The company hasn’t clarified which former partner Sandler was referring to, nor what type f data was being commercialized. Per the news outlet, blockchain analytics companies sell aggregate wallet data as their core product, without adding names or any identifying personal information.
Often, these companies collect anonymous transaction data and sell it to customers looking to investigate suspicious activity. Speaking to CoinDesk Chainalysis co-founder Jonathan Levin explained firms “receive wallet and transaction information without names or other account information.”
Similarly Elliptic, a firm that worked with Coinbase, has claimed it was never provided “any personally identifiable information about their users.” Speaking to the news outlet a spokesperson for the cryptocurrency exchanged noted it won’t “share broad sets of transaction and address information with vendors if it is beyond their immediate scope of work.”
This came after Coinbase’s CEO Bran Armstrong revealed Neutrino team members associated with Hacking Team – which was known for aiding government known for human rights abuses – will be asked to leave the firm.
Coinbase Can’t Catch a Break
As CryptoGlobe recently covered, crypto Twitter hasn’t been letting Coinbase catch a break. Various incidents over the users have seen users grow increasingly suspicious of the firm, and the Neutrino acquisition was seemingly the straw that broke the camel’s back.
After it was revealed some in Neutrino belonging to Hacking Team, a campaign on social media was launched under the #DeleteCoinbase hashrate. It saw users post pictures and video of themselves deleting their Coinbase accounts in protest.
Ciao Coinbase, I never really liked you, your fees were too high & your listings policy, rather questionable. But making business with Hacking Team members is beyond acceptable, goes against principles that are basic to me in this space. #DeleteCoinbase pic.twitter.com/yFemPtzvKg
— Alberto Arnaldo (@aarnaldo) March 1, 2019
It’s currently unclear how many users have deleted their accounts. Other incidents leading up to the campaign were insider trading allegations, breaking its own listing rules, and implementing poor security practices that could affect new users, by setting up an option to backup private keys to iCloud or Google Drive.
