Coinbase User Data Sold By Third-Party Providers To Outside Sources

Coinbase’s director of institutional sales Christine Sandler stood up to the accusations of acquiring the blockchain company Neutrino since many thought that the acquisition was controversial after saying that the previous client data providers sold user data from Coinbase to third-party sources so we must look into this in today’s blockchain news.

Coinbase initially announced the acquisition of Neutrino on February 19 claiming that it will use the blockchain analytics tools of the company and their AML/KYC technology.

However, the acquisition quickly became controversial because of the backgrounds of some of the co-founders of Neutrino or more specifically their involvement in a software firm named Hacking Team. Their software was basically spyware and has been used by international governments and law enforcement agencies.

Sandler defended Coinbase’s decision saying that it is important to leave their current providers explaining:

“We are aware of the backgrounds of some of the folks that were involved in Neutrino […] It was important for us to migrate away from our current providers. They were selling client data to outside sources and it was compelling for us to get control over that and have proprietary technology that we could leverage to keep the data safe and protect our clients.”

Sandler also mentioned Coinbase’s Pro decision to list XRP whose status is still complicated in the United States. She also added:

 “There had been a groundswell of interest in adding the asset to the platform. There was some speculation about whether the asset would be classified as a security or not — we’re not securities lawyers. We felt there were compelling arguments on either side.”