The New Zealand-based cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia has experienced an attack. The team explained that hackers were able to steal funds from the platform. After this attack, the exchange entered unscheduled maintenance. The information was released by the exchange on Twitter. Questions still remain unanswered about the hack as the community awaits word.
Cryptopia Exchange Hacked
In a letter written for investors and customers, the crypto exchange Cryptopia announced that they were hacked. As per the official announcement, the exchange experienced a security breach that resulted in significant losses.
The exchange informed about it:
“We apologise for the delay in keeping you updated and appreciate your patience. Yesterday 14th January 2019, the Cryptopia Exchange suffered a security breach which resulted in significant losses. Once identified by staff, the exchange was put into maintenance while we assessed damages.”
— Cryptopia Exchange (@Cryptopia_NZ) January 15, 2019
The exchange went on explaining that the staff notified and involved government agencies. These agencies include the NZ Police and the High Tech Crimes Unit. They are investigating this issue as a major crime and they are assisting the platform with professional advice.
Cryptopia informed that they will have suspended trading and activities until the situation is resolved. The exchange will remain in maintenance mode allowing pertinent agencies to take the necessary measures and solve this issue. However, they explained that they will keep users updated about it.
After this tweet, the exchange posted another one, 14 hours later. They wrote that they are unable to update the community about this case since it is now a police matter. Cryptopia Exchange said to users to keep an eye on social channels for updates on the matter.
According to some reports, the police have stormed the office of the company located on the Colombo St, Christchurch. Apparently, millions of dollars have been lost by the company. The Founder of Validity Crypto, Samuel Gosling, uploaded an image in which it is possible to see Crptopia’s hot wallet.
#Cryptopia has announced that they have faced #security #breach, with rumours circulating that a large amount of #ERC20 assets have been lost. Which seem to be true when we look to their hot wallet; https://t.co/JiwfNz0Xhw pic.twitter.com/lni0yl0jxk
— .:⠠⋮⠠:. (@deomaius) January 15, 2019
As per Gosling, the funds have been transferred to different addresses to split the funds in different wallets. Additionally, it makes it more complicated for those investigating the case to see where these funds go. Several millions of dollars could be moving among different wallets.
The exchange was founded three years ago by Rob (Hex) Dawson and Adam Clark and it has more than 1.4 million users. Some of the cryptocurrencies available for trading were Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Doge (DOGE).
