It seemed like history was repeating itself today when it was announced that South Korean company Bithumb was hacked. The attack comes just one week after the Coinrail crypto exchange hack which saw Bitcoin drop below $7,000; a 2-month low for the world’s biggest coin.
Bithumb is one of Asia’s largest crypto exchangers, holding over $360 million in assets.
Today’s crypto exchange hack saw the virtual hackers steal $30 million worth of cryptocurrency from the firm. The company has announced that it will cover all the losses.
Withdrawal and deposit services have been temporarily withdrawn following the attack, and users’ assets have been temporarily transferred to a more secure cold wallet. It’s unknown when Bithumb transactions will begin again.
Bitcoin’s Value following Today’s Crypto Exchange Hack
Although Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have yet to completely recover from last week’s crypto exchange hack, they have been looking more steady recently. However, following this morning’s attack, Bitcoin dropped by $200. The current market value is hovering around $6,600.
A Bad Month for Korean Company Bithumb
The news of the crypto exchange hacks comes just two weeks after Korean company Bithumb was hit with a $28 million tax bill. The company was also investigated for tax evasion, but no wrongdoings were found.
In addition to this, the Bithumb crypto exchange hack marks their third attack in just 12 months.
This should prompt the company to take tougher security measures in order to keep their customer’s assets safe.
Advice for Crypto Traders in Korea
Following all the local crypto exchange hacks, cryptocurrencies are being shed in a pretty bad light by the Korean media.
However, we know that this isn’t the full picture. If you are trading crypto, there are measures that you can take to keep your currency safe and secure.
Most importantly, never keep your currency in exchange unless you’re actively trading. As soon as you’ve made your trade, immediately withdraw your coins. Although Korean company Bithumb has agreed to cover the losses from the crypto exchange hack, not all exchange sites would do the same. Keep them where you know they’re safe.
The safest place to keep your coins is in a coin wallet. A cold storage wallet, such as a USB hard drive is the safest place to keep your coins- however, it is more expensive and can be time intensive to use. Alternatively, you can use a hot wallet, such as cloud storage or a mobile app to store your currency. It’s worth bearing in mind, though, that these methods are more vulnerable to attacks.
Most traders keep their currency in a combination of hot and cold wallets. They store large sums of crypto in cold wallets and more accessible amounts in hot storage.
With all the recent crypto exchange hacks that have taken place, it’s time to trade responsibly. We hope that Korean company, Bithumb get more insight into how the attack happened so that other companies can prevent crypto exchange hacks from happening in the future.
