07 Jan 2015, 3:36 pm
Bitstamp said in an update on the issue on 6 January that trading would resume within 24 hours.
Bitstamp said on 5 January that some of its operational wallets had been compromised, but that fewer than 19,000 bitcoins had been taken. One bitcoin is currently worth around £188, or $283.
However, Bitstamp said its customers “can rest assured that their bitcoins held with us prior to temporary suspension of services…are completely safe and will be honoured in full”.
Customers were immediately notified and advised that that they should no longer make deposits to previously issued bitcoin deposit addresses, Bitstamp said.
“This breach represents a small fraction of Bitstamp’s total bitcoin reserves, the overwhelming majority of which are held in secure offline cold storage systems,” Bitstamp said.
A number of financial services industry bodies across the world have highlighted both the opportunities and threats presented to the financial system if trading in, and transacting with, digital currencies become more mainstream. The European Banking Authority previously warned that there is a risk that virtual currency can be stolen by hackers, or that platforms consumers use to store the digital assets are closed down as a result of illegal activity.