Report: Customer Complaints Against Coinbase Are on the Rise

A new report is shedding light on customer complaints against U.S. cryptocurrency companies. 

Using data from the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the agency responsible for processing consumer complaints against companies), online student loan market LendEDU has found that cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has drawn perhaps the most criticism this year.

In total, Coinbase has received 288 complaints in 2017, a figure that represents a dramatic increase from the seven complaints the startup received in 2016.

Coinbase did not reply when contacted by CoinDesk for comment, though the company has pledged to use a new funding round to boost its struggling customer service.

“Over the past six months, Coinbase and GDAX have seen unprecedented growth. As a result, our systems have been pushed to the limit and [this] has resulted in a negative experience for customers,” a company representative said at the time.

Still, Coinbase was not the only company to receive complaints. The CFPB has seen 277 complaints against other cryptocurrency companies, LendEDU found, a figure it projects could rise to more than 400 by the year’s end.

Overall, the data is the latest that points to potential growing pains for cryptocurrency firms, which have seen a surge in new interest this year as bitcoin has set a string of all-time highs.

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Coinbase.

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