Hacked S. Korean Crypto Exchange Bithumb Confirms It Will Reimburse Affected Users

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has today confirmed it will reimburse users affected by the theft of 35 bln won (about $30 mln) from its hot wallet two days ago, in an official announcement today, June 21.

At the time of the hack, Bithumb was ranked sixth largest crypto exchange by trade volumes globally, but has now dropped to tenth place following news of the high-profile incident.

Bithumb today says there will be “no damage” to its customers as a consequence of the theft, emphasizing its strict separation of customer and company assets, the latter of which it says are stored in cold wallets.

Today’s post reveals that Bithumb “expects” that the total losses from the hack will “be lower” than the current figure, saying the exchange will keep the public informed as to the final confirmed amount.

Bithumb is aiming to reassure affected users by emphasizing the 100 bln won in revenue that it reported at the end of 2017, further saying it plans to release its fiscal report for the first half of 2018 by early July.

The exchange says it “believes [customers] can use Bithumb safely,” saying it will soon announce a specific schedule to resume deposit and withdrawal services, and is in the process of improving its wallet system and ensuring the protection of customer assets.

As Cointelegraph has reported, the details of this week’s hack are still being clarified.

According to Cointelegraph’s personal correspondence with Korean resident officials from the Sentinel Protocol, Bithumb’s hot wallet was hacked on the night of June 19.

As soon as it had detected the theft, the exchange temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals on the exchange.

Notably, just this month Bithumb was given the all-clear following a three month long investigation into its operations by South Korean authorities.

Today’s post confirms that the exchange is working closely with the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) to investigate the recent incident, which as Cointelegraph has reported, is being conducted together with the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology (MIC), the national police and other agencies. Bithumb says it will subsequently undertake “systematic measures” to prevent a repeat of the incident.