Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
A breach Jan. 4 at Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp resulted in the loss of approximately $5.2 million worth of the digital currency and caused the exchange to shut down while it sorts out the after-effects. That’s according to notes posted to Bitstamp’s Web site Monday and Tuesday.
The breach targeted one of the exchange’s operational wallets, affecting almost 19,000 Bitcoins, but did not affect an unspecified number of others held offline, Bitstamp says.
Deposits made prior to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time Jan. 5 are covered by Bitstamp’s reserves, the company says. The exchange urged users not to make deposits to previously issued Bitcoin addresses.
Bitstamp says it is working on transferring a backup of the exchange to a new server and expects to bring it online in “the coming days.”
Bitcoin, which is still trying to find widespread consumer use, is the best known of digital currencies that exist only as computer code.
And the currency has had its share of security issues, ranging from the shutdown of Mt. Gox, a well-known Bitcoin exchange, to the federal law-enforcement closure of Silk Road, a Web site devoted to the buying and selling of illegal drugs using Bitcoin.
