Coinbase is a platform that allows its users to buy and sell cryptocurrency. Over the years, the company has developed a name for itself as a key place to buy and sell digital currency. Coinbase even says that it’s “the safest, most secure place to buy and sell bitcoin, ethereum, and more.”
The company’s claim may not actually be the case. Over the years, a number of people have come forward or filed complaints with the SEC stating that Coinbase effectively stole their money with little retribution.
Using Coinbase comes with some risk
In 2018, complaints were filed with the SEC. According to Crypto Globe, 134 pages of complaints were filed with the SEC claiming that Coinbase had locked users out of their accounts while still having possession of their funds, effectively stealing their money.
Mashable has images of the SEC filings. In one of them, a Coinbase user says that she lost $5,000 on the platform because of an error. In the filing, she said, “I believe the company is holding my funds to make money on top of my investment.” Other users think that the company was doing the same thing to them.
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The Mashable article said that the SEC reports have “what is portrayed as an aggressive nonchalance on the part of Coinbase in response to the loss.”
An article from The Verge said that Coinbase had been taking money out of users’ bank accounts without authorization. For some users, this meant that their accounts were emptied and they were charged overdraft fees. The charges appear to be duplicates of one legitimate transaction.
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In this situation, a Coinbase representative said in an email, “We’re aware of the issue and will be posting updates via Reddit, Twitter and our company blog. We’ll be reaching out to affected users to solve the issue as required, as well as posting updates via social channels.”
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