Crypto whale sues Coinbase over $55M frozen DAI
An anonymous Puerto Rico crypto holder sued Coinbase in San Francisco federal court, accusing the exchange of refusing to return about $55 million in DAI tied to a 2024 phishing hack.
An anonymous crypto holder based in Puerto Rico filed a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco seeking return of roughly $55 million in DAI stablecoin the complaint says was stolen in a 2024 phishing attack.
The complaint, which redacts identifying details, says the theft occurred after the user tried to access a crypto management tool and entered credentials on a fake login page created with a tool called Inferno Drainer. The page mimicked the legitimate service but used a “.app” domain, the filing says.
The filing alleges attackers gained control of the victim’s wallet and immediately moved the DAI to other addresses. Investigators tracked the tokens through several transfers and through coin-mixing services, which split and recombined funds to obscure their origin.
According to the complaint, multiple on-chain investigation firms traced the flow of funds to an account on Coinbase. The filing states Coinbase identified the funds and froze the account by early December 2024 while investigating.
The suit alleges that more than a year later the plaintiff has not recovered the tokens and that Coinbase informed the user it will not release the assets without a court order. The complaint asks the court to compel the exchange to return the specific DAI or otherwise account for the frozen assets.
Key portions of the filing are redacted, including technical details about the chain of transactions and some communications between the plaintiff and Coinbase. The plaintiff is listed under a pseudonym and described as a resident of Puerto Rico.
DAI is an Ethereum-based stablecoin intended to track the U.S. dollar. The complaint highlights the use of mixers in laundering stolen crypto and the challenges investigators face when funds move through many addresses.
The complaint seeks judicial relief to recover the specific DAI tied to the plaintiff’s wallet.
Coinbase did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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