Bitcoin sinks after Hong Kong exchange “hacked”

PanARMENIAN.Net - A major Hong Kong-based Bitcoin exchange has suspended trading after $65 million in the virtual unit was reportedly stolen by hackers -- sending the digital currency plunging more than 20 percent, AFP reveals.

Bitfinex said it had suspended all transactions after discovering that some users' Bitcoins had been taken.

"Today we discovered a security breach that requires us to halt all trading on Bitfinex, as well as halt all digital token deposits to and withdrawals from Bitfinex," the company said in a statement posted on its website late Tuesday.

"We are investigating the breach to determine what happened... we will look at various options to address customer losses later in the investigation," it said.

Bloomberg News reported hackers took 119,756 Bitcoins, or about $65 million at current prices, from the platform.

The value of the often-volatile currency plunged Wednesday to as low as $482.82 from $603.06 Tuesday, according to Bloomberg News data, before rising to $539.53 Wednesday afternoon.

"Yes, it is a large breach," said Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase, a cryptocurrency wallet and trading platform.

"Bitfinex is a large exchange, so it is a significant short-term event, although Bitcoin has shown its resiliency to these sorts of events in the past."