The company said Thursday that the U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase aims to steal customer data from hackers and demand $20 million to prevent its public disclosure.
The group will be the first cryptocurrency exchange to join the S&P 500 next Monday, saying the network demand was raised on Sunday.
The company's shares fell 4.2% in New York. They soared in a quarter Tuesday after announcing their inclusion in the U.S. blue chip index.
"Their purpose is to collect a list of customers they can contact while pretending they are a common library - tricking people into handing over cryptocurrencies. Then, they tried to blackmail Coinbase for $20 million to cover it up. We said no."
The California-based group has committed to paying a $20 million reward (the amount required) for information resulting in arrests and convictions.
Cybercriminals often launch attacks on the cryptocurrency industry, looking for weaknesses in poor written code and targeting executives in the industry.
This year, hackers stole about $1.5 billion in crypto tokens from Bybit, and in the robbery, digital asset exchanges have been described as the largest theft industry.
Blockchain data group Chainalysis estimates that hacker exchanges on cryptocurrency exchanges climbed 21% to more than $2.2 billion last year, with much of that activity focused on the Asia-Pacific region. It found that hackers with links to the North Korean government stole a total of $1.3 billion.
This is also a series of hacking attacks by highly-watched companies around the world. Luxury French fashion house Dior, British department store Harrods and retailers Marks and Spencer have been hit by cyber attacks in recent weeks.
The criminals “bribed and recruited” support agents to work outside the U.S. to steal their customer data, Coinbase said. Staff involved in the scandal were fired immediately.
The stolen data accounts for a "small subset" of customers and includes some Social Security, bank account details, account data and identity images such as passports and driving permits. However, they do not get a password, key or fund from their account.
Coinbase said it would repay customers who were tricked into sending money to attackers, which could be in the range of $180 million to $400 million.
The industry has revived since the election victory of U.S. President Donald Trump. Bitcoin has climbed a third in the past month to more than $100,000, the highest level since January.
Dovile Silenskyte, director of digital assets research at WisdomTree, described Coinbase's inclusion in the S&P 500 as "beyond symbolic" because it will help push some basic money into stocks.
“Crypto is no longer a turbulent acrobatic,” she said.