NBA superstar Kevin Durant has successfully regained access to his Bitcoin holdings after a prolonged period in which he was locked out of his Coinbase account. This development was confirmed by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who announced on social media that the account recovery was complete.
The announcement came just days after Durant humorously addressed the situation at CNBC’s Game Plan conference in Los Angeles, alongside his agent Rich Kleiman. Kleiman described the challenges faced during the recovery process but noted the irony that the value of Bitcoin has continued to rise during their struggles. “It’s just a process we haven’t been able to figure out,” Kleiman remarked, adding, “But, Bitcoin keeps going up … so, I mean, it’s only benefited us.”
Durant first ventured into cryptocurrency by purchasing Bitcoin on Coinbase back in 2016 after hearing discussions about the digital asset during a dinner with his Golden State Warriors teammates. At the time, Bitcoin was trading between approximately $360 and $1,000. Today, the cryptocurrency has skyrocketed in value, trading around $116,000 per coin according to CoinGecko.
While the specifics of Durant’s Bitcoin holdings have not been disclosed, both he and Kleiman are known investors in Coinbase Global and actively promote the exchange through their sports and entertainment platform, Boardroom.
The incident involving Durant has ignited broader conversations regarding Coinbase’s customer service, with numerous users sharing their own frustrations about difficulties in retrieving account access. These complaints have renewed calls for the company to enhance its support services. In a troubling incident from May, reports emerged that cybercriminals bribed overseas customer support agents to leak private customer data. Additionally, customers have previously criticized Coinbase’s live phone support, labeling it inadequate.
In response to the mounting concerns, Coinbase’s CEO Armstrong addressed the issue, expressing a commitment to improving customer support. “We’re putting a big focus on getting better at customer support at both ends—improving products so fewer people need support, and providing a faster, higher quality experience when you do,” he stated in an X post.
Coinbase has yet to respond to requests for further information on what specific measures it plans to implement to improve customer service. The company previously mentioned that it operates a 24/7 assistance hotline and offers self-help resources to help users troubleshoot basic issues.
