South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has suspended deposits and withdrawals after losing $30 million worth of cryptocurrencies as the result of an apparent hack.
The Seoul-based company, once the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, on Wednesday announced that $30 million worth of undisclosed cryptocurrencies had been stolen from the platform.
It is not clear at what time the theft occurred, but Bithumb suspended deposits at approximately 00:53 UTC and immediately began transferring all of its assets to cold wallets to prevent further losses.
“We checked that some of cryptocurrencies valued about $30,000,000 was stolen,” Bithumb said on Twitter. “Those stolen cryptocurrencies will be covered from Bithumb and all of assets are being transferring to cold wallet.”
The theft presumably occurred as the result of a hack, though the exchange has not formally confirmed this. Given the relatively small size of the theft, it’s likely that a hacker managed to gain access to an internet-connected “hot wallet” for one of the more thinly-traded assets listed on the platform