Coinbase customers suing for stealing cryptocurrencies delay investigation: report

The plaintiffs behind a class action lawsuit against Coinbase, which suffered losses due to the unauthorized transfer of cryptocurrencies, are said to be delaying the case.

Coinbase clients suing the major US-based cryptocurrency exchange are refusing to disclose relevant account information, delaying proceedings, according to a new report from Bloomberg Law.

Bloomberg Law reports that the plaintiffs have agreed to release the information, which includes emails, usernames and Ethereum (ETH) addresses, in exchange for a court-issued protection order.

However, Coinbase recently said it disagrees with customers’ requests to include a provision in the court order stating that the company will waive its right to arbitrate, which is included in its terms of service as a standard method. to resolve disputes that arise with customers.

Coinbase claims that without the account information, it cannot properly match the plaintiffs to their respective agreements and force arbitration, effectively adjourning the lawsuit.

As noted by Coinbase in an emergency motion filed in November,

“The refusal to provide this basic information is an improper attempt to undermine Coinbase’s right to enforce arbitration under the federal arbitration law. »

The class action was originally filed in August by Coinbase client George Kattula. In it, a group of customers claim that the cryptocurrency exchange had inadequate security measures in place that failed to prevent illicit transfers of their digital assets.

Kattula, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs, says malicious actors misappropriated $6,000 of her digital assets from Coinbase to unknown wallets due to the platform’s insufficient security.