Crypto Exchange Hack

[Anchor Lead]

Not so long ago on this program we told you about a hacking attack on cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea. This time around, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the nation has fallen victim to yet another hack, losing 35 billion won overnight. It's the sixth such attack on Korean cryptocurrency exchanges thus far.

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The first signs of a hacking attack were detected at the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb on Wednesday night. The attack lasted about five hours. The exchange has found that 35 billion won worth of virtual coins had been stolen.

[Soundbite] (Bithumb Staff(Voice modified)) : "Suspicious signs refer to the abnormal attempts to access our exchange from outside. They have been on the rise since the attack on Coinrail on June 10, and they surged last night. Our monitoring system detected them."

Bithumb says that ordinary investors have not been affected by the hacking attack, as the lost cryptocurrencies were the company's online equity. The exchange added that it has been keeping more than 70 percent of its customers' assets in safe "cold wallets" due to a surge in hacking attempts over the past one month. Bithumb said that it has moved the remaining assets of its customers to the cold wallets as well shortly after the hacking attack, and is taking measures to prevent the stolen coins from being converted to cash at other exchanges. It's the sixth hacking attack on cryptocurrency exchanges based in Korea. Most of them took place over the past one year. But the perpetrators and hacking routes have yet to be found.