A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges that Coinbase violated biometric privacy laws in Illinois through its collection and storage of customer fingerprints and facial templates. The lawsuit argues that Coinbase's Know Your Customer (KYC) checks violated certain provisions of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which required permission from users when collecting their biometrics and guidelines for retaining and destroying such data.

The suit is seeking damages of $5,000 per intentional BIPA violation or $1,000 if the court finds the alleged violations were not wilful, as well as attorneys fees and court costs of the class action. Coinbase has not yet responded to the request for comment.