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Investing.com -- Barclays analysts said in a note that the market’s sharp reaction to a recent cyberattack on Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) and a separate regulatory probe is “likely overblown,” even as the stock dropped sharply on the news.
The crypto exchange revealed that several of its overseas support agents were bribed into stealing customer data in a social engineering-driven hack.
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According to the company, the attackers accessed personal information, such as names, addresses, masked Social Security numbers, and bank account data, but did not obtain passwords, private keys, or access to customer wallets.
Less than 1% of transacting users were affected.
Barclays noted that while “a cyber-related incident is never a positive,” the firm believes Coinbase “is taking appropriate steps to address the incident,” including refusing to pay a $20 million ransom, reimbursing affected clients, and cooperating with law enforcement.
Crucially, Barclays emphasized that “the issue was the result of social engineering and not a failure of underlying blockchain technology.”
Separately, media reports indicated that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Coinbase overstated its number of verified users in its 2021 IPO filing.
Barclays noted that the probe relates specifically to the S-1 filing and “does not have to do with figures that the company currently reports.”
Shares of Coinbase dropped 7.2% on Thursday. “We are somewhat surprised by the strong stock reaction,” Barclays said. The firm suggested some of the move may reflect a pullback following Coinbase’s recent rally on its addition to the S&P 500, but concluded the market response “is somewhat overblown.”
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