The alleged hack which comes a year after the infamous Mt.Gox debacle has further aggravated the already frustrated bitcoin community. UK- and Slovenia-based bitcoin exchange Bitstamp has stated that it is currently offline and has put up a notice on its website that only one of its ‘operational wallets’ was compromised on 4th January.
The company has assured users that all their bitcoins lying in the cold storage are secure. The operational wallet consists of a small fraction of bitcoins which are frequently bought and sold. Most users keep their bitcoins in the cold storage, however when they sell or buy a bitcoin it may enter the operational wallet till the transaction has been completed. The website further stated that it has more than necessary reserves to cover the amount of bitcoins in the compromised operational wallet. The company has not released any further details as to how it was hacked and how the hackers got access to the operational wallets. Bitstamp’s CEO Nejc Kodri? took to Twitter to assure the Bitcoin Exchange users that all is well within the exchange.
— Nejc Kodri? (@nejc_kodric) January 5, 2015 He further also said that Bitstamp hoped to restore its service later today
— Nejc Kodri? (@nejc_kodric) January 5, 2015
— Nejc Kodri? (@nejc_kodric) January 5, 2015 Bitstamp has also emailed all its users with a message conveying the hack and asking them to stop all transactions.
Bitstamp amounts for almost 6 percent of all bitcoin transactions carried out. The bitcoins, which are already at their lowest levels at $270.83 may fall further if the issue is not resolved at the earliest.
