23andMe bankruptcy values each leaked genome at just $2.60
aronchick · x · 2026-10-06
The final reckoning for 23andMe's collapse: more than forty attorneys general settled with the bankruptcy trustee for $150 million in allowed claims, but will actually collect only $18 million. Spread across the 6.9 million people exposed in the 2023 credential-stuffing breach, that's about $2.60 per genome; adding the consumer class action's $46.75 million, a bankruptcy court effectively priced a human genome's security at roughly $9.40.
Author David Aronchick uses the moment to argue, again, for ways companies can do valuable work without permanently storing raw data. Timeline: 23andMe filed Chapter 11 in March 2025 with the DNA database as its most valuable asset; 27 states and DC sued to block the sale without consent, but the court approved it with privacy commitments attached.
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