A recent movement is taking crypto Twitter and beyond by storm – it’s called “Delete Coinbase” and the point is to log in to one’s Coinbase account and delete it, posting a screenshot of the final splashscreen.

The reasons for Coinbase deletion are mainly political – the exchange has been engaging in questionable activities for a while already. Read our Coinbase review for more info on that – questionable altcoin bundling, promotion of cheaper coins to “buy a whole coin” instead of BTC, strict KYC, customer support problems and on down the list.

The latest event that triggered the “Delete Coinbase” movement, however, was the acquisition of Neutrino, a blockchain analytics company. Founding members of Neutrino were responsible for the Hacking Team startup that used to sell spyware to governments.

The message of the “Delete Coinbase” movement is that Coinbase is authoritarian, statist, looks to spy on its’ users, will employ any shady tactics for profit, and does not care about anything Bitcoin stands for.

The #DeleteCoinbase movement took off on twitter and some of the prominent “crypto-celebs” took part in it. Here’s a list of some of the top tweets from the “Delete Coinbase” wave, – some will make you laugh, some will make you think, but all will give you a further idea on why you should delete your Coinbase account:

Not that I’m @coinbase’s biggest customer by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m done. I was never a fan, but this is too much. Thanks @davidzmorris, @arjunblj, @J9Roem for bringing this to light. Deleted my account and so should you. Share your images with #DeleteCoinbase. pic.twitter.com/G2llRID5UF — Udi Wertheimer (@udiWertheimer) February 27, 2019

Looks like the #DeleteCoinbase#DeleteCoinbaseTrustChain is working as now @coinbase is preventing users from deleting their accounts.https://t.co/hkbAbABnEO — Vortex (@theonevortex) March 1, 2019

This #DeleteCoinbase movement can be everything Proof of Keys was trying to be. If enough people close their accounts and withdraw their crypto, let's see if Coinbase has any issues with their reserves. I don't think they will but it will be interesting to monitor. — Larry Cermak (@lawmaster) March 1, 2019

Holy Shit. @AsILayHodling peeled back another layer of the onion for me. Hacking Team lost its export license because it sold software to Egypt, where in 2016 an Italian student studying labor unions was tortured and murdered after being surveiled. This makes things personal. /1 — Exceptionally Brilliant (@davidzmorris) February 28, 2019

After reading all the rumors & allegations, I've decided to further investigate the affairs of #Netrino (aka new #HackingTeam), the company @coinbase has acquired last week. I've also documented the #DeleteCoinbase and #DeleteCoinbaseTrustChain movements.https://t.co/L7IFJ44gWl — Vlad Costea ⚡️ (@TheVladCostea) March 1, 2019

Coinbase are a bright, shining example of how to:

– Unethically pump shitcoins onto noobs

– Support attacks on Bitcoin (Bcash, Segwit2x)

– Hire unethical people #DeleteCoinbase — Stephan Livera (@stephanlivera) March 1, 2019

Same thing. I called customer support and they have an "account specialist" on the case now. pic.twitter.com/S82ayUn5Dw — Chris (@won13three) March 1, 2019

I LOVE this #deletecoinbase movement due to their recent acquisition. It’s proof to the outside world that we really do care about freedom and liberty and it’s not just virtue signaling with the ultimate goal of pumping Bitcoin. — Keel (@CryptoKeel) March 1, 2019

#DeleteCoinbase is real – Everyone is closing down their @coinbase account, just a word to keep an eye on the platform, if you have funds on it. — Malte Slywest (@MalteSlywest) March 1, 2019

With my account activity I don't think we'll _really_ miss each other anyways… #DeleteCoinbasepic.twitter.com/DLtGV0aSSB — Aaron van Wirdum (@AaronvanW) March 1, 2019

The #DeleteCoinbase movement is a 21st century bank run. Such events can become dangerous for the ones who join the movement late or refuse to join it at all. Let's just hope Coinbase did not get involved with any form of Fractional Reserve Banking. — Gabriel Comte ⚡ (@gcomxx) March 2, 2019

Angry users call for Coinbase boycott with #DeleteCoinbase after contested acquisition https://t.co/JcPHEXezlX — TNW (@thenextweb) March 2, 2019

Apparently there are so few Ethereans in #DeleteCoinbase that Anthony believes this is just about bitcoin vs. altcoins, not the ethics of acquiring Neutrino / Hacking Team (which started this). Is he just misinformed, or is Ethereum opposed to defenses of privacy & human rights? pic.twitter.com/3bsC4yEuJw — Janine (#DeleteCoinbase) (@J9Roem) March 2, 2019

Coinbase was reported to prevent users from deleting their accounts. Here’s a video of account deletion attempt not going through:

If you use Coinbase, now you are not only paying for your own surveillance but the salary of a person who contributed to the murder of journalists, targeting of minority populations, and spouse-ware around the world. https://t.co/fcjoTij8l9 — Janine (#DeleteCoinbase) (@J9Roem) February 20, 2019

#DeleteCoinbase shirts and hats:

I made excuses for @coinbase far longer than they deserved. There are now plenty of alternatives, some have far better UX (@cash), and their partnering with Hacking Team makes it impossible for me to dismiss their obvious cowardice & lack of ethics. Long overdue #DeleteCoinbasepic.twitter.com/4nahCaQqCH — Guy Swann ⚡ (@TheCryptoconomy) February 28, 2019

Broke: Companies freezing *suspicious* bitcoins. Woke: Bitcoiners freezing out suspicious companies. Bespoke: #DeleteCoinbase — 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚝 ₿ (@MattoshiN) February 28, 2019

Pretty cool – the map of all social media interactions with the #DeleteCoinbase hashtag:

Wondering what & who is Hacking Team? Take a look here and #DeleteCoinbase NOW! https://t.co/OoOdiDOTcspic.twitter.com/B4uqilyhHv — ⏳Ivan Dasher Ⓐ (@IvanDasher) March 1, 2019

Vice comes in with snarky titles:

Users trying to #DeleteCoinbase in protest after the exchange acquired a startup staffed by former Hacking Team members are having trouble https://t.co/riAcVJSIJV — Motherboard (@motherboard) February 28, 2019

Coinbase withdrawal problems

Interestingly enough, Coinbase is not allowing withdrawals for unverified users anymore – no matter what amount of crypto they want to take in or out, verification is requested:

There are no reasons to send your official IDs to a company that has a team of privacy-violating hackers on board. Well, unless you have a large amount of funds locked up there for some reason.

As a result we definitely recommend staying away from Coinbase. A company of that size and ambition is getting political in their decision-making sooner or later.