Coinbase: Over 99% of user assets are stored in cold wallets, with private keys split for storage

Coinbase published an article introducing its user asset protection mechanism and stated that it has not been affected by the previous security incident involving Binance's hot wallet. Currently, the platform's system and user funds remain unaffected.

Coinbase stated that over 99% of user assets are stored in cold wallets, with hot wallets only retaining a small amount of funds to meet users' daily withdrawal and usage needs, dynamically adjusting the balance based on deposit and withdrawal demands. The assets in its institutional custody vaults are all stored in cold storage and are independently isolated on-chain.

In terms of fund transfer security, Coinbase employs distributed key protection, withdrawal limits, abnormal activity monitoring, and emergency stop mechanisms. Cold wallet private keys are split and stored, and the signing process does not fully reconstruct them; the key signing service in the hot wallet production environment does not allow single-person independent access. If abnormal transactions or a surge in withdrawal amounts are detected, the system will trigger an investigation and limit, and if necessary, can pause part or all fund transfers by shutting down the signing key.

Coinbase also stated that user assets are always held by the users, and the platform holds assets on a 1:1 basis, without lending or misappropriating them without user instructions. As of September 30, 2026, the asset scale on the Coinbase platform reached $377 billion, holding $8.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents, and $2.2 billion in investment cryptocurrencies. The company stated that as AI capabilities develop and change the security risk landscape, it will continue to increase investment in security technology.