On Wednesday, June 20, 2018, approximately $31 million worth of cryptocurrency was stolen from Bithumb, a South Korean-based exchange. While the breach doesn’t compare to the $530 million, the fact that Bithumb is now the 6thlargest exchange in the world is a worrying development.
While a lot of information has been released since the robbery, some important questions remain unanswered.
According to information from Coinmarketcap, Bithumb held 10% of all Ripple (XRP) currency, worth 32 million, all of which was stolen.
The security system failed. On June 16, a few days before the attack, the company itself stated, “Recently, the number of unauthorized access attempts has increased. Therefore, an urgent check was carried out on the server to strengthen the security of all systems.”.
Immediately after the official update confirming that the service had been breached, a second announcement followed informing platform users that the full amount would soon be refunded to users.
Bitcoin fell by $200 in just an hour after the exchange breach was announced.
However, there are still unanswered questions. It was not initially reported whether Ripple was the only currency stolen, nor was it reported to what address the stolen coins were sent to, or whether they have been liquidated.
It has also not been reported how the breach was carried out, nor when deposits and withdrawals from the platform will resume, as they are now "frozen".
