Major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is currently the target of an active extortion plot by a criminal organization threatening to leak internal company videos containing sensitive client data.
Despite the alarming threats, the company has explicitly stated that its core infrastructure was never breached, customer funds remain entirely secure, and it will not yield to any ransom demands.
The insider threat
According to Nick Percoco, Kraken's chief security officer, the extortion attempt stems from two isolated incidents of rogue employees abusing their access privileges.
The first incident occurred in February 2025, when Kraken received a tip from a trusted source about a video circulating on a criminal forum. The footage appeared to show a user navigating the exchange's internal client support systems.
Kraken immediately launched an investigation, identifying the culprit as a member of its own support team. The employee’s access was instantly revoked, security controls were upgraded, and affected users were notified.
More recently, the company received a second tip accompanied by a similar video. Once again, Kraken quickly identified the compromised employee, terminated their access, and initiated a full investigation.
Scope of the compromise
Across both the February 2025 and recent incidents, the rogue support agents only potentially viewed a very small fraction of the user base. Kraken estimates that approximately 2,000 client accounts were affected, which accounts for just 0.02% of the exchange's total clientele. The company noted that any users potentially impacted by these unauthorized views have already been directly notified.
Refusal to negotiate
Shortly after Kraken shut down the second rogue employee's access, the criminal group initiated their extortion campaign. The bad actors threatened to distribute the internal footage from both incidents to media outlets and social media platforms if the exchange did not comply with their financial demands.
Percoco’s response to the threat was definitive. "We will not pay these criminals," the Chief Security Officer stated. "We will not ever negotiate with bad actors."
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team
