this is why you don't keep your coins on exchanges
I don't care how "safe" your exchange seems... you need to get ur BTC off coinbase, kraken, crypto.com ASAP and get them into self custody using a ColdCard wallet. Not your keys, not your coins... Below are 7 real world examples of why exchanges are risky and cannot be trusted no matter their track record and no matter how "trustworthy" and "reliable" they seem. I've also linked to a documentary for 6 of them so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy as you learn about the history of crypto. 1. Mt. Gox My sister got screwed with this one... Year: 2014 Losses: 850,000 BTC (worth 101 BILLION today) Mt. Gox was the original crypto catastrophe... Mt. Gox handled over 70% of all BTC trades before its collapse. It lost hundreds of thousands of BTC due to a long-running, undetected hack. CEO Mark Karpeles was arrested for data tampering (though not for the hack). Creditors have spent over a decade waiting for payouts—some are finally receiving partial repayments in 2024–2025. Before its collapse, Mt. Gox was by far the dominant Bitcoin exchange, handling the vast majority of all global BTC trades. It was considered the central hub for Bitcoin trading, and its failure sent shockwaves through the nascent crypto market, leading to a significant drop in Bitcoin's price and a period of deep mistrust. 2. Bitfinex Year: 2016 Losses: 119,756 BTC (worth 14 BILLION today) Hackers exploited Bitfinex’s multi-signature wallet system (shared with BitGo), draining hundreds of millions worth of Bitcoin. The hack led to a 36% haircut on all user balances, which were replaced with "IOU" tokens (BFX). In 2016, Bitfinex was one of the top 3 exchanges.. The hack caused an immediate 20% plunge in Bitcoin's price, demonstrating its significant impact on the market. While not an outright collapse, the "haircut" on user balances and the subsequent IOU tokens severely impacted user trust and led to a period of uncertainty for the exchange and the broader market.