While no funds were stolen in the recent Coinbase hack, the bad actors acquired something even more important in today’s age: data.
This has led to serious concerns around Know Your Customer (KYC) security and pushed a lot of people to secure Coinbase alternatives.
Coinbase Employees “Bribed and Recruited”
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the firm won’t pay a $20 million ransom but will offer an equal-sized reward fund for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the bad actors.
Offshore Coinbase support agents were compromised and handed over confidential customer data to unknown assailants, with Armstrong claiming they were “bribed and recruited.”
Coinbase says that the primary reason for stealing customer data was to run phishing scams, where the hackers will act as Coinbase and dupe customers into handing over their funds, but some critics believe there could be ulterior motives.
Some of the stolen data includes customers’ names, addresses, government ID images, and account balances.
BREAKING 🚨 NEWS : COINBASE HACK – issue is KYC. The more we KYC the more at risk the user is. pic.twitter.com/SN2eQKjQWI
— Jason Ai. Williams (@GoingParabolic) May 15, 2025
Concerns are brewing that this may not just threaten users’ digital safety, but also their physical safety.
another example of kyc not working
— icebergy ❄️ (@icebergy_) May 15, 2025
Lefteris Karapetsas called Coinbase’s centralized data storage system a “disaster waiting to happen” and referenced a “violent attack in Paris” targeted at a prominent crypto figure that occurred just days before this data breach was announced.
Coinbase just proved again why centralized data honeypots are a disaster waiting to happen. KYC means handing over your identity to be leaked, sold, or extorted.
The combination of data exposed here (real life addresses, crypto addresses and amount and real life id documents) is… pic.twitter.com/ZeOwpChZxO
— Lefteris Karapetsas (@LefterisJP) May 15, 2025
Meanwhile, Web3 attorney Ariel Givner shared that one client fears for their safety since their home address was leaked.
What am I supposed to tell my clients?
People are terrified.
I got their permission to share. I have received this from numerous scared individuals.
Cc @coinbase @brian_armstrong https://t.co/3lFJmG40Ne pic.twitter.com/HQTrf8n7Mj
— Ariel Givner (@GivnerAriel) May 15, 2025
The Coinbase ($COIN) stock price has plunged 7.2% in the past 24 hours, and the exploit also briefly dented crypto prices, although they’re now rising again.
Experts have long warned against using centralized exchanges, with the recent exploit reflecting a clear reason why.
Trusted intermediaries, custodians, and centralized data storage all oppose crypto’s core tenets and put users at risk.
As the industry progresses, there are increasingly robust alternatives that investors can use to manage their digital assets. With that in mind, here are some secure, KYC-free Coinbase alternatives:
Best Wallet
Best Wallet is a KYC-free crypto wallet that’s exploded in popularity over the past year. It has a cross-chain DEX with support for over 60 blockchains, fiat on and off-ramping, derivatives trading, and much more.
It’s more secure than Coinbase and far more feature-rich than your average crypto wallet.
Since it’s KYC-free, Best Wallet doesn’t store private data that hackers could apprehend.
It also features innovative security mechanisms such as advanced fraud protection, which helps spot and block potential scams.
Moreover, the wallet uses multi-factor authentication and integrates Google and Apple for account recovery, meaning users can securely retrieve access to their wallet without worrying about managing private keys.
The project also offers a native cryptocurrency, Best Wallet Token, which has so far raised over $12 million through its presale. This provides trading fee discounts, higher staking yields, governance rights, and access to promotions on partner projects.
Best Wallet Token allows investors to speculate on Best Wallet’s performance, and considering people are awakening to the risks of centralized exchanges, this could prove a lucrative opportunity.
Analyst Jacob Bury responded to the Coinbase news and suggested Best Wallet is the most fitting alternative.
Not only is the wallet a secure Coinbase alternative, but its wide-ranging ecosystem cultivates a user experience unlike anything else on the market. As such, we could see Best Wallet become one of the industry’s most popular tools in the coming months.
Phantom
While Phantom may offer fewer built-in features and support less blockchains than Best Wallet, it undoubtedly deserves a mention as another secure Coinbase alternative.
Like Best Wallet, Phantom has a built-in DEX and fiat on-ramping through MoonPay.
The main blockchain that Phantom supports is Solana; but it also recently added support for Sui.
Solana is the world’s most popular blockchain by number of users, with 3.5 million people interacting with it today. It’s also highly popular for meme coin trading, with platforms like Pump.fun, Letsbonk.fun, and Believe giving users many opportunities to catch brand new, high-potential launches.
This marks another advantage over Coinbase, which only lists a limited number of meme coins.
Ledger
Best Wallet and Phantom are great for active traders who are looking for new opportunities on the market. However, if you are a passive investor and plan on holding cryptos for multiple years, then you should consider using Ledger.
Ledger is a cold wallet, meaning it’s not connected to the internet. This makes it a safer option for long-term storage since it cannot be hacked.
But there are some drawdowns. One is that it’s inconvenient, which is why it’s typically used for only long-term holding. And since Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that most investors hold for multiple years, this limits Ledger’s potential applications.
Another drawback is that Ledger requires you to possess a physical USB device, and also manually store your seed phrase with limited account recovery options.
In comparison, Best Wallet uses advanced cryptographic techniques to enable decentralized wallet recovery, helping offset the risks associated with self-custody of private keys.
Overall, if you’re building a long-term Bitcoin stack, then it might be worth using Ledger or another cold storage wallet. But for altcoin holders and active investors, hot wallets like Best Wallet and Phantom are more convenient and offer a wider suite of capabilities.
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