Don Pirtle, a 53-year-old retired police officer, told CNBC that he was alarmed when he got the company’s email on Friday that his two-factor authentication had been changed. He said he was afraid that a hacker was trying to take over his Coinbase account.
“I was scared to death. I contacted my daughter and her boyfriend. I asked them, ‘Should I sell my crypto?’” Pirtle said. “I thought, ‘I have to sell this before I lose the money.”’
That day, he said he sold $60,298 in crypto – an investment he was making for his grandson. He now questions whether it’s a safe investment.
Coinbase, which went public in April, has more than 68 million users, more than 2,100 full-time employees, and $223 million in held assets, according to the company.
