cryptocurrency
Bulletins

Coinbase is buying an Israeli security company

The acquisition follows some high-profile security incidents and a warning by the company to customers.

The Coinbase logo, with coins.

Coinbase is expanding in Israel, a hub of security tech.

Photo: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Coinbase is buying security firm Unbound Security in a move that also establishes the crypto company’s presence in Israel, the company said Tuesday.

Unbound Security is considered a pioneer in technologies for transferring cryptocurrencies more securely. Coinbase said the acquisition gives it access to some of the world’s most sophisticated cryptographic security experts.

The company said the deal underlines its efforts to tap “engineering talent” globally, citing its recent expansion in India, Singapore and Brazil. Israel is known as a global hub for security research.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Coinbase, along with other crypto exchanges, has seen clients' accounts drained by hackers and warned customers not to "brag" about their crypto wealth.

Benjamin Pimentel

Benjamin Pimentel ( @benpimentel) covers crypto and fintech from San Francisco. He has reported on many of the biggest tech stories over the past 20 years for the San Francisco Chronicle, Dow Jones MarketWatch and Business Insider, from the dot-com crash, the rise of cloud computing, social networking and AI to the impact of the Great Recession and the COVID crisis on Silicon Valley and beyond. He can be reached at bpimentel@protocol.com or via Google Voice at (925) 307-9342.

securitycoinbaseacquisitionscryptocurrency
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