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Hold onto your hats, crypto folks! A massive database packing the details of over 18 million crypto users in the US has just popped up for sale on the dark web. Dark Web Informer, always on the pulse, broke the news on X, mentioning that the hacker is asking for a cool $10,000 for this treasure trove of data.

According to their post on X, this isn’t just surface-level info. We’re talking deep dive details like user names, phone numbers, home addresses, and email addresses – the kind of stuff you really don’t want out there.

They put it bluntly:

“Looks like a threat actor is trying to cash in on a huge database of U.S. crypto users. They claim it’s pulled from a bunch of different exchanges and platforms.”

And get this – the seller is boasting that this data haul comes from some of the biggest names in crypto! Think Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, Crypto.com, Bitfinex, Coinmama, eCoin, BearTax, and a bunch more. Reportedly, even CoinMarketCap, Robinhood, and Ledger are in the mix as compromised sources. It’s a pretty extensive list.

But wait, there’s more! It seems like dark web data dumps are becoming a theme this week in the crypto world. The same Dark Web Informer account also flagged another hacker peddling crypto investor ‘leads’ linked to Robinhood accounts in both the US and Europe. The reach is broad, hitting countries like the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, the UK, Switzerland, and Poland.

This second hacker is saying these leads are from a brand new, private database. They’re also hinting they could dig up data for other countries in just a week or two if there’s demand. Pretty unsettling – sounds like they’re grabbing this info through breaches or unauthorized access, right?

Crypto Platforms Stay Mum as Leak Origins Remain a Mystery

This latest leak is the second time in under a month that user details from crypto platforms have surfaced for sale on the dark web. Just recently, it was 230,000 user records from Gemini and Binance that were being shopped around.

Strangely, despite these reports making waves, none of the platforms supposedly affected have said a word about it. And still no clues on how these hackers are getting their hands on this data. However, Binance did put out a recent statement denying any data breach on their end.

Binance’s Chief Security Officer is pointing the finger at something else entirely. They believe hackers are snagging user info by messing with browser sessions. According to Su, these bad actors are using nasty “InfoStealer malware” to grab personal data and then sell it off online.

Regardless of the source, it looks like these folks are already putting this stolen information to use in phishing scams. Users of Binance and Coinbase are reporting getting text messages, masked as if from the exchanges, saying their accounts are compromised and urging them to call a phone number to fix things. Classic phishing tactic.

Users Are Saying: Time for DEXs?

Understandably, this massive data leak is raising serious red flags. People are worried about the sheer scale of data up for grabs and the potential for targeted phishing attacks, identity theft, and all sorts of shady stuff.

For some in the crypto community, this is yet another reason to ditch centralized exchanges and go fully decentralized. Others are arguing that crypto exchanges should be held responsible for these data mishaps, especially if they’re not taking ownership or explaining what’s happening.

Adding to the conversation, this news comes as privacy in crypto is already a hot topic. Ethereum’s co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has been pushing hard for better privacy on the blockchain lately, even highlighting Zero-Knowledge proofs as a potential fix for current privacy headaches.

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Source: cryptopolitan.com