A user of the Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency trading platform, Coinbase, allegedly fell victim to a scam that cost them a total of 400.099 Bitcoin (BTC)—worth approximately $33 6 million at the time of writing.
According to popular security researcher ZachXBT, the incident is part of a larger pattern of thefts targeting Coinbase users in recent weeks. The researcher identified multiple thefts this month, including 60.164 BTC on March 26, 46.147 BTC on March 25, and 20.028 BTC on March 16. In total, over $46 million has reportedly been stolen from Coinbase users in March alone.
The stolen funds followed a similar laundering pattern, moving from Bitcoin to Ethereum using Thorchain and Chainflip before being converted into the cryptocurrency-backed, dollar-pegged stable coin DAI.
The researcher also says that Coinbase has not flagged the identified scam-related wallet addresses in its compliance tools. They previously reported on a $65 million theft from Coinbase users between December 2024 and January 2025, suggesting the company may be facing an annual $300 million social engineering scam problem.
Crypto Scams Neared $10 Billion Last Year
According to Chainalysis’ latest report on cryptocurrency scams, on-chain data shows that these received around $9.9 billion based on the identified illicit addresses. Estimates suggest up to $12 billion could have actually flowed to scams.
The revenue generated from pig butchering scams, a form of romance or investment fraud, experienced a substantial year-over-year growth of nearly 40%. Concurrently, the number of deposits made to these scams surged by almost 210%. Crypto drainers, another type of scam, also witnessed significant growth, with a nearly 170% year-over-year revenue increase and a remarkable 75% growth in the number of deposits.
As CryptoMode reported, ByBit, the cryptocurrency exchange, saw hackers steal more than $1.4B in assets, making it the biggest crypto heist this year and in history. It turned out that the manipulation of a multisignature transaction was made through the popular Safe Wallet platform. It all links to the North Korean hacker group, Lazarus.
At the moment, the specific social engineering scam being employed to target Coinbase users remains undefined.
Related: HyperLiquid Delists JELLY After $13M Vault Manipulation Blowout
