A Coinbase user has reportedly lost 110 cbBTC, valued at $11.5 million. The loss occurred after the user fell victim to a social engineering scam on Base, the Ethereum layer-2 network backed by the exchange.

On January 31, blockchain investigator ZachXBT uncovered the exploit, linking it to a broader pattern of fraud affecting Coinbase users.

ZachXBT Exposes $150 Million Stolen in Growing Coinbase Fraud Crisis

According to ZachXBT, the stolen cbBTC—Coinbase’s wrapped Bitcoin product—was swiftly laundered across multiple instant exchanges. The attacker swapped, bridged, and moved the funds through various platforms before consolidating them with other stolen assets on Ethereum. These actions make recovery nearly impossible.

The investigator pointed out that this incident is part of a growing trend, with multiple Coinbase users suffering similar losses. He estimates that scams of this nature have drained at least $150 million from Coinbase customers.

“Coinbase has a serious fraud problem. I just uncovered many more recent thefts from Coinbase users. The $150 million stolen from Coinbase users in a year is just from thefts I independently confirmed. So it’s more than likely multiples of this number,” ZachXBT stated.

Coinbase has not yet commented on the latest exploit. However, scams involving fraudsters impersonating Coinbase support have become increasingly common.

These attackers use phishing emails, spoofed calls, and other deceptive tactics to trick victims into revealing private keys or login credentials. Once they gain access, they drain wallets, move funds, and take control of accounts.

Last December, a Coinbase Commerce vendor lost $15.9 million with no intervention from the exchange’s anti-money laundering (AML) system. Before that, an imposter stole $6.5 million in October 2024 using a phishing scheme while pretending to be part of Coinbase’s support team.

“I receive inbounds every week from Coinbase users falling for targeted social engineering scams which result in millions of dollars of losses each month. Coinbase does not help the victims and no other major exchange has this same issue. The leadership is completely out of touch with actual threats and cites obscure internal policies to abscond itself of any responsibility even when it’s the right thing to do,” ZachXBT wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

These incidents highlight growing security concerns for Coinbase users. As the largest crypto exchange in the US, the company faces increasing pressure to improve fraud detection and safeguard its customers from sophisticated cyber threats.

If these scams continue unchecked, they could further erode trust in centralized exchanges and highlight the urgent need for improved security protocols.

VIRTUAL price is undergoing a sharp correction, dropping 58.7% in the last 30 days and 15% in the past 24 hours. Its market cap now sits at $1.23 billion, marking a significant decline as bearish momentum strengthens.

Technical indicators reflect this weakness, with ADX rising, confirming the downtrend, while BBTrend remains negative despite some improvement. As VIRTUAL continues trading below $2, the next move will depend on whether it can break resistance and recover or lose support and extend its decline.

VIRTUAL ADX Shows the Current Downtrend Is Getting Stronger

One of the leading AI agent tokens, Virtuals Protocol, has sustained a week-long decline driven by the latest DeepSeek hype. The token’s ADX (Average Directional Index) is currently at 22.5, rising from 15.3 just a day ago, indicating a strengthening trend.

The ADX measures the strength of a trend on a scale from 0 to 100, with readings below 20 signaling a weak trend and above 25 confirming a strong one.

Values between 20 and 25 suggest a transition phase, where momentum is building but not yet fully established.

With VIRTUAL in a downtrend, the rising ADX suggests that bearish momentum is intensifying. If ADX continues increasing above 25, it would confirm that the downward trend is gaining strength, making a recovery more difficult.

However, if ADX stabilizes or starts declining, it could indicate that selling pressure is weakening, potentially allowing the price to consolidate or reverse.

VIRTUAL BBTrend Has Been Negative Since January 20

VIRTUAL’s BBTrend is currently at -15.5, having remained negative since January 20, with a negative peak of -36.5 on January 30.

BBTrend (Bollinger Band Trend) is an indicator that measures trend strength and direction based on Bollinger Bands. Positive values indicate an uptrend, while negative values signal a downtrend, with more extreme readings suggesting stronger momentum in either direction.

Although still negative, VIRTUAL‘s BBTrend improved from -36.5 to -15.5. This suggests that the downtrend is weakening. If BBTrend continues rising toward neutral (0), it could indicate that selling pressure is fading, allowing for stabilization or potential recovery.

However, if the BBTrend turns lower again, it would confirm that the bearish trend remains strong, increasing the likelihood of further downside.

VIRTUAL Price Prediction: Will VIRTUAL Continue Trading Below $2?

VIRTUAL price is currently trading within a range between support at $1.77 and resistance at $1.99, with price movement showing signs of consolidation. If the $1.99 resistance is broken, it could signal the start of a stronger uptrend, pushing VIRTUAL toward $2.22 and $2.42 as the next key levels.

A resurgence in crypto AI agents hype could further fuel momentum, potentially leading to a recovery toward $3.14, a level not seen in recent weeks.

On the other hand, if support at $1.77 fails, VIRTUAL price could extend its downtrend, with $1.35 as the next major level to watch.

This would mark its lowest price since December 9, 2024, reinforcing bearish sentiment and making VIRTUAL even more distant from other AI coins, such as RENDER, FET, and TAO, in market cap.

Swiss banking giant UBS has successfully tested its UBS Key4 Gold product on ZKSync, an Ethereum Layer-2 network.

This move highlights the increasing adoption of blockchain technology by traditional financial institutions seeking efficiency and security.

UBS Integrates ZKSync for Blockchain-Based Gold Trading

On January 31, ZKSync reported that UBS, which manages assets worth $5.7 trillion, is exploring how blockchain can streamline gold investments.

The test focuses on allowing the bank’s Swiss customers to purchase physical gold directly through a blockchain-based system while ensuring scalability, privacy, and interoperability.

UBS Key4 Gold enables retail investors to buy fractional gold shares, offering real-time pricing, deep liquidity, and secure storage. The product operates on the UBS Gold Network, a permissionless blockchain that connects vaults, liquidity providers, and distributors.

To optimize efficiency, UBS leveraged ZKSync’s Validium mode. It’s a zero-knowledge rollup solution that enhances scalability by storing data off-chain.

As part of the proof-of-concept, the bank deployed smart contracts on the Validium testnet to simulate the UBS Gold Network. These contracts facilitated gold token issuance and transaction processing.

“This PoC reflects UBS’ continued efforts to explore how blockchain can enhance its financial offerings and support its broader digital asset strategy. I firmly believe that the future of finance will take place onchain,” wrote Alex Gluchowski, inventor of ZKsync.

The testnet also enhanced privacy by restricting participants’ visibility to their transactions while maintaining verification mechanisms.

Additionally, it allowed stablecoin to merge with Ethereum, making gold token purchases more cost-effective and scalable.

Growing Institutional Interest in Blockchain Solutions

UBS’ test reflects a broader shift toward blockchain adoption in traditional finance (TradFi). The bank has previously explored tokenization by launching an Ethereum-based money market investment fund.

UBS’ Digital Assets Lead Christoph Puhr noted that tokenized securities hold great potential, but scalability, privacy, and interoperability remain hurdles. He highlighted that the ZKSync PoC showcased how Layer-2 networks and zero-knowledge technology can help address these challenges.

“This is another great example of how UBS collaborates with technology providers to stay at the forefront of innovation. Our PoC with ZKsync demonstrated that Layer 2 networks and ZK technology hold the potential to resolve these,” Puhr noted.

According to him, zero-knowledge technology would serve as a catalyst for innovation and provide a robust foundation for tokenized assets, which could accelerate Web3 adoption.