News from Cryptopia: The exchange now estimates the losses from the hacker attack that occurred several months ago at roughly $16 million.
Cryptopia revises previously reported loss amount
Although modern cryptocurrency exchanges employ extensive security measures that make hacker attacks and scams less frequent, incidents still occur. Cryptopia represents one of the most significant such incidents in recent months. The exchange’s former operators recently announced they had been forced into liquidation following the attacks. Until now, the full extent of the damage had not been disclosed; earlier reports suggested losses of about $23 million. Bitcoin was not involved in this particular case; in other high-profile breaches, the leading cryptocurrency has often been the primary target.
Hackers moved coins to other exchanges
New information has clarified the scope of the damage to the exchange and to users’ wallets on the platform. The company also provided updates about the attackers’ behavior: the criminals reportedly moved assets including Ether and reserves in various other digital currencies. In a statement, the operators said the cybercriminals remain active and that the stolen funds have been traced to other exchanges. The announcement named competitors such as Bitfinex, Bittrex, Huobi and Binance, the latter being one of the largest global providers.
Nearly a dozen currencies part of the theft
Legal and regulatory restrictions could, however, prevent the attackers from making withdrawals or limit their ability to do so. In addition to Ethereum and Ether, a number of ERC-20 tokens appear to be involved. Cryptopia listed several affected tokens, including Pillar, Dentacoin, Lisk and Centrality. According to the exchange, a total of ten coins were impacted by the hack. The attackers are reportedly attempting to transfer more than 30,000 Ether to a newly created address; investigators have identified three addresses associated with the incident. Even if the perpetrators are ultimately unable to withdraw the funds, it remains uncertain whether the exchange or its customers will ever recover the stolen assets.
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