Hacked South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has recently revealed that, following a security breach that led to a loss of over $30 million, it’s going to reopen deposits and withdrawals on its platform today, August 4.
The exchange’s announcement was originally made via Twitter. Through a blog post, the company detailed that only 10 cryptocurrencies – bitcoin, ethereum, Ripple’s XRP, ethereum classic, qtum, litecoin, bitcoin cash, monero, zcash and mithril – were approved for deposits and withdrawals for now.
This means that, on its platform, 25 cryptocurrencies will remain suspended because of security concerns. The company’s post reads (roughly translated):
Some cryptocurrencies with a significant price difference of about 10 percent between Bithumb market and standard market will be opted out for this customer's asset. When services return to normal, rapid changes in price are expected. Therefore resuming normal services for such cryptocurrencies will be put on hold for the time being.
The crypto exchange further added that its users will need to create new deposit addresses if they want to add funds to their accounts, and that uncredited deposits made while its services were suspended will be returned.
Bithumb’s Security Breach
As CryptoGlobe covered the cryptocurrency exchange was hacked in June, and lost over $30 million as hackers took 2,016 BTC, 2,219 ETH, 692 BCH, and 5.2 million XRP, along with various other cryptos.
Once the breach was discovered, Bithumb quickly froze transaction services and hastily moved all of its funds stored in hot wallets to cold storage, to prevent further damage. It then went through maintenance periods and security reviews, which affected its reputation.
Since then, the exchange revealed it managed to recover $14 million, and noted it will compensate losses through a coupon-based plan. After the breach, the Korea Blockchain Association (KBA) inspected the firm’s operations, and certified it as one of the 12 crypto exchanges that passed the check, out of 23 in South Korea.
Other exchanges that passed the check were OKEx, Huobi Korea, Korbit, and Upbit. The market particularly welcomed Bithumb’s recovery, however, as it was the country’s largest exchange by trading volume before the security breach.
As covered, the exchange has started its global expansion plan as it applied for a license with Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FCA) and with Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
