Coinbase Has Received the Third-Most Complaints Among Digital Wallet Firms

Coinbase’s digital wallet has received the third-most complaints among companies operating such wallets over the past four years.

• Coinbase received 755 complaints from 2017 through April 2021, according to the Massachusetts Student Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG), a consumer research and consumer advocacy group, which reviewed complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB first began receiving complaints about digital wallets in 2017.
• Complaints against Coinbase and other cryptocurrency exchanges have been rising steadily. Coinbase received the most complaints among the top crypto exchanges in the U.S., with 1,060 overall over a year-long period starting in May 2020, including complaints about its digital wallet, and domestic and international money transfers. The rise in complaints has dovetailed with Coinbase’s rapid growth. The company now has over 68 million verified users.
• Coinbase did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.
• The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services cited the MASSPIRG report in a memorandum for an Oct. 14 hearing on the impact of the cashless economy on underserved communities.
• The MASSPIRG report found that the three most common complaints against firms with digital wallets concerned opening, closing or otherwise managing accounts; frauds and scams; and executing transactions, including unauthorized transactions.
• Payment service providers PayPal and Square had the most complaints, receiving 4,431 and 1,202 complaints, respectively. PNC Bank and JPMorgan Chase came in fourth and fifth with 594 and 324 complaints, respectively.