Case Study: Coinbase achieves secure, low-latency database access at scale with MongoDB Atlas

Coinbase secures MongoDB access at scale with 200,000 certificates a day

Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange, faced a security challenge as it scaled. Traditional passwords and long-lived certificates used to access their MongoDB Atlas databases created vulnerabilities, leaving stored credentials exposed and exploitable.

The solution implemented by MongoDB involved Coinbase building an internal system that generates ephemeral certificates on demand. This approach, developed by the vendor MongoDB, eliminated the need for stored credentials. As a result, Coinbase now securely issues over 200,000 of these temporary certificates daily with sub-50 millisecond latency, greatly enhancing its security posture.

Coinbase