A hacker who targeted Coinbase in 2020 has taunted the well-known crypto investigator ZachXBT after transferring 42 million dollars worth of Bitcoin.
On May 21, 2025, the hacker consolidated numerous addresses containing Bitcoin (BTC) stolen from Coinbase into a single wallet. Following this, they sent 1 BTC to an address associated with ZachXBT.
ZachXBT confirmed the transaction and message on Telegram, stating,
“The 2020 Coinbase hacker sent me 1 BTC with an on-chain message.”
The message contained several laughing emojis and taunted the crypto sleuth.
In 2020, Coinbase experienced a security breach that allowed hackers to steal over $42 million worth of BTC. The hacker exploited a vulnerability in Coinbase’s SMS two-factor authentication system to access user accounts and withdraw funds.
After the hack, ZachXBT and other blockchain investigators tracked the movement of the stolen funds. The recent transfer of $42 million in Bitcoin suggests the hacker is attempting to launder or cash out the stolen funds.
This incident highlights the challenges of tracking and recovering stolen cryptocurrency, as hackers often use sophisticated methods to obfuscate the origin and destination of funds. It also underscores the importance of security measures, such as two-factor authentication, to protect cryptocurrency accounts from unauthorized access.
Over 69,400 Coinbase users were affected by a data breach in December of the previous year. According to a filing with the Maine Attorney General’s office, Coinbase publicly disclosed the breach last week, having discovered it on May 11 of this year.
Notably, Coinbase’s stock price fell significantly following two adverse events: a cyberattack that exposed customer data and the continuation of an SEC investigation regarding how the company represented its user count during its 2021 IPO.
Coinbase is cooperating with the SEC while disputing the inquiry’s relevance and outlining the costs Coinbase expects to incur to address the data breach. This combination of regulatory scrutiny and security issues has caused concern among investors.
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