TechFlow, July 28 — According to Cointelegraph, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has filed a lawsuit in California federal court against German national Tobias Honscha, accusing him of cybersquatting on the domain coinbase.de and attempting to extort the company.
Coinbase claims that Honscha redirected users through the domain to a physical coin trading app and profited from Coinbase’s affiliate marketing program, violating the affiliate agreement clause that prohibits the use of "Coinbase" in domains.
More seriously, Coinbase alleges that Honscha threatened the company, warning that if it refused to buy the domain at a high price, phishing attacks could occur, including risks such as "unauthorized submission of identification documents, passwords, and one-time two-factor authentication codes." Coinbase described this as "clear extortion."
Coinbase is seeking a court order to halt the use of the domain, transfer ownership of the domain, and claim damages.
