Coinbase Sued for Withholding Frozen Crypto From $55M Defi Saver Exploit

Coinbase faces a lawsuit in California federal court for allegedly freezing and withholding cryptocurrency traced to a $55 million theft from the DeFi Saver platform in August 2024. The plaintiff, based in Puerto Rico, claims that after the attacker laundered the stolen funds through Tornado Cash, a portion was deposited into a Coinbase retail account and subsequently frozen. The lawsuit seeks a court declaration of ownership and an order for Coinbase to return the assets, also naming an unknown individual accused of the theft. The case questions the responsibility of exchanges in handling traceable stolen funds and highlights the common practice of requiring court orders before releasing frozen assets. The exploit utilized the Inferno Drainer platform, a scam-as-a-service tool, and the stolen Dai stablecoins were traced by analytics firms, leading to a notification to Coinbase about the deposited funds. Coinbase confirmed the funds were in a retail user account and implemented measures to prevent their dissipation.

(Source：Cointelegraph)