TLDR
- A criminal group is threatening to leak videos of Kraken’s internal systems unless the exchange pays an unspecified amount
- Kraken CSO Nick Percoco confirmed no systems were breached and user funds are safe
- About 2,000 accounts were potentially viewed across two separate incidents in February 2025 and more recently
- Kraken is working with federal law enforcement and has already shut down one extortion attempt
- Coinbase faced a similar extortion attempt in May 2025, where $20 million was demanded after data from ~70,000 users was compromised
Kraken is refusing to pay a criminal group that obtained videos of its internal systems and is threatening to release them publicly. The exchange’s Chief Security Officer, Nick Percoco, made the announcement on X on Monday.
Kraken Security Update
We are currently being extorted by a criminal group threatening to release videos of our internal systems with client data shown if we do not comply with their demands. It’s important to start with the most important points: our systems were never…
— Nick Percoco (@c7five) April 13, 2026
Percoco said the attackers filmed Kraken support staff accessing internal client systems. They are now using that footage as leverage to demand an unspecified payment.
“We will not pay these criminals,” Percoco wrote. “We will not ever negotiate with bad actors.”
Kraken confirmed no systems were fully breached. Customer funds were not at risk at any point during either incident.
Two separate incidents are at the center of this case. The first occurred in February 2025, when it appears a member of Kraken’s support team filmed internal systems. A second, more recent incident followed a similar pattern.
In both cases, Kraken acted quickly to identify the threat and cut off access. The company says it has already shut down one extortion attempt connected to this activity.
Around 2,000 Kraken user accounts were potentially viewed across the two incidents. Kraken says it has reached out to everyone who may have been affected.
Federal Law Enforcement Involved
Kraken is now working with federal law enforcement to investigate the criminal group. Percoco said the investigation could lead to arrests.
The exchange is also working with industry security experts. Percoco said the company is collaborating to “investigate and disrupt insider recruitment efforts” targeting crypto, gaming, and telecom companies.
Insider threats have become a growing problem across the crypto industry. North Korean hacking group Lazarus Group is known for placing operatives inside legitimate companies, with researchers identifying at least 60 known Lazarus-affiliated coders employed by crypto projects.
Coinbase Faced a Similar Attack
Kraken is not the first major exchange to face this kind of pressure. In May 2025, Coinbase disclosed that cybercriminals threatened to leak user data unless the exchange paid $20 million.
That breach affected roughly 70,000 users and was caused by bribes paid to overseas customer support contractors.
Broader crypto security losses have been rising. More than $178 million was lost across major crypto incidents in March 2026, up from $49.3 million in February, according to blockchain intelligence firm Nominis.
Authorization abuse was the leading attack method in March, with victims unknowingly approving transactions that gave hackers direct access to their funds.
Percoco said the security of Kraken’s clients remains the exchange’s “highest priority” and that it is continuously working to improve its defenses against new threats.
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