Onboard Global, a Nigerian crypto payments startup, has confirmed that its operations remain unaffected by the recent data breach at Coinbase, the largest US-owned cryptocurrency company.
In February, Onboard Global partnered with Coinbase to make it easier for users in Nigeria to buy crypto using local currency through Coinbase Wallet. The integration routes users to Onboard’s platform, where transactions are handled independently. Onboard runs its verification checks, meaning Coinbase does not access or store any of Onboard’s user or system data.
“The Coinbase breach does not impact Onboard Global, and there’s no material connection to our operations in this context,” an Onboard Global spokesperson told TechCabal.
This assurance comes amid revelations from a May 15 regulatory filing, in which Coinbase disclosed that hackers had bribed and colluded with contract employees, reportedly from India, to steal sensitive data from users.
The attackers posed as Coinbase staff and tricked users into sending crypto after gaining access to their full names, government-issued ID images, addresses, and account data. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the company received a ransom demand of $20 million on May 11. It declined and instead placed a $20 million bounty on the perpetrators. While Coinbase estimates its financial exposure as high as $400 million, it said less than 1% of users were affected.
The breach is a stark reminder of how human error and insider threats continue to expose vulnerabilities in crypto infrastructure. Although Onboard is a Coinbase partner, its limited use of the Coinbase Wallet application programming interface (APIs) meant none of its users or systems were compromised. In 2024, Coinbase Ventures, the corporate venture capital (CVC) arm of Coinbase, invested in the crypto startup.
Hacks have become a recurring theme in the crypto space. Since 2021, the global industry has lost more than $1.5 billion yearly to cyberattacks. Bybit, another major crypto exchange, was hit by a $$1.5 billion hack in February, reportedly linked to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. These incidents unsettle users, particularly in emerging markets, where trust in crypto is still forming. Often, it’s not the tech that fails, but people.
Still, Nigeria’s crypto ecosystem remains on course. Developers building on Coinbase’s Base blockchain—on which Onboard runs—continue to ship products and grow local adoption. The breach hasn’t slowed the pace for African developers, who are carving out their place in the global crypto map with steady momentum.
