Another day, another hack in the crypto world. This time EtherDelta, a popular exchange for buying cryptocurrencies, has suspended its service after it was apparently hit by an attacker.
EtherDelta is particularly notable for its selection of alt coins (from ICOs) which are often listed on its site before they hit other, higher profile exchanges. The exchange is also easy to use since it doesn’t require user verification of any kind to commence trading, although it doesn’t support fiat so all trades are crypto-to-crypto.
The company said it has “reason to believe” that intruders compromised its server.
https://twitter.com/etherdelta/status/943582597459972101
A second tweet suggests that the attacker managed to spoof its domain — minus its Twitter feed and chat interface — a move that, if let unchecked, could enable it to empty user wallets. At this point, it isn’t clear what impact, if any, the apparent breach has had on EtherDelta users.
https://twitter.com/etherdelta/status/943583921714925569
EtherDelta has trading volume of around $11 million per day, according to figures from Coinmarketcap.com. The metric, which is just one data for assessing exchanges, would rank it inside the world’s top 75 trading sites, according to the website.
This news follows the closure of Korean exchange Youbit, which announced it is filing for bankruptcy after being hacked twice this year, reportedly by North Korean attackers. Europe-based NiceHash said it lost tens of millions of dollars from an attack last week. Tether, a startup that works with exchanges, said it lost $31 million last month.
The heat isn’t just coming from hackers, the soaring value of bitcoin and demand for crypto has also brought havoc to more established names.
Coinbase, the world’s highest-valued and best-funded exchange, is under pressure for its botched launch of Bitcoin Cash this week. The company is investigating claims of insider trading, but it appears that word of the launch leaked out days before after Reddit users spotted evidence of Bitcoin Cash’s addition on a Coinbase API key permissions screen.
Just another day in cryptoland then.
Note: Jon owns a small amount of cryptocurrency. Enough to gain an understanding, not enough to change a life.