Following the news on the hack of popular South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, the exchange has given a response on the circumstances on the grounds to calm its customers.
Although this is not the first time that Bithumb experienced a major hack, the exchange seems to have reacted quickly and claims to have secured users funds on its platform.
The hack was first reported on Twitter by a crypto influencer known as @DoveyWan, and she revealed that over 3 million EOS and 20 million XRP had been transferred from Bithumb.
Some hours after the hack was reported by @DoveyWan, Bithumb gave an official response to apologize for users’ inability to deposit or withdraw funds and at the same time confirm that customers’ assets are safe, hence no cause for panic.
[Notice🔔]
We deeply apologize to our members for delaying the cryptocurrency deposit and withdrawal service, we would like to inform you of the circumstances of the grounds and confirm that your assets are safe.
For more details >> http://t.co/dOvT78P0sK— Bithumb (@BithumbOfficial) March 30, 2019
According to the report from Bithumb, at about 10:15 pm on March 29th, they detected some “abnormal withdrawals of the company’s cryptocurrency” through the exchange’s “abnormal trading monitoring system.”
Bithumb went further to note that based on the facts on the grounds, the theft is most likely from an insider(s) as no “external intrusion path” has been identified. The exchange says they are collaborating with Korean authorities and other security firms to conduct an intensive investigation on the hack.
At about 10:13 pm, almost the same time Bithumb claimed to have detected the anomalies on their platform, the exchange shared on Twitter that cryptocurrencies worth $30 million have been stolen from its platform.
The exchange went on to state that they will cover the losses but deposit and withdrawal will be stopped as a security measure.
#bithumb #hacked why they deleted the tweet tho pic.twitter.com/nFR6u7hP2C
— Prince (@crypto_fated) March 30, 2019
Bithumb, however, seems to have deleted these tweets and why they did that is still unknown. The exchange only stated in its response that they are working with other major exchanges and foundations in order to “recover the loss of the cryptocurrency equivalent,” without noting the amount lost or the cryptocurrencies affected.