Bitfinex Offers 5% Bounty for Information on $70m Bitcoin Hack

Hong Kong based Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term exchange Bitfinex has issued new updates regarding the massive hacking that crashed the price of Bitcoin.

Join the industry leaders at the Finance Magnates London Summit, 14-15 November, 2016. Register here!

On Wednesday trading on the exchange was enabled for all currencies and pairs, while deposits and withdrawals was enabled for BTC, ETC, ETH, and USD. Trading was also enabled for the BFX token that Bitfinex created to try and preserve the debt it had to clients after spreading the loss to everyone (with the pairs BFXUSD and BFXBTC).

The team behind Bitfinex also say they have taken steps to ensure a secure environment. These include additional platform and infrastructure security checks; regenerating all encrypted services, including wallets, security tokens, and passwords; moving funds to multisig Cold Storage Cold Storage Cold storage is a computer system or mode of operation that is designed for the retention of inactive data, in this case private keys for cryptocurrencies. This helps put up resilient barriers against theft by hackers and malware, and is often a necessary security protocol especially dealing with large amounts of Bitcoin.In order to “own” a cryptocurrency, one must be in control of a cryptocurrency’s private keys. As such, private keys are long strings of random characters that can be used to se Cold storage is a computer system or mode of operation that is designed for the retention of inactive data, in this case private keys for cryptocurrencies. This helps put up resilient barriers against theft by hackers and malware, and is often a necessary security protocol especially dealing with large amounts of Bitcoin.In order to “own” a cryptocurrency, one must be in control of a cryptocurrency’s private keys. As such, private keys are long strings of random characters that can be used to se Read this Term; re-evaluating all third-party integrations; performing a comprehensive system audit in order to identify vulnerabilities; and rebuilding the entire platform on a new infrastructure.

The exchange is also fighting rumors that it has not committed all of the company’s reserves to compensate customers. It assures that: "Certain funds are being held back for our working capital purposes as we recommence operations. However, no property held back will be used to pay dividends to current shareholders unless and until our customers are repaid."

Most interestingly perhaps, is that Bitfinex is now willing to pay a 5% bounty for information leading to the recovery of the missing 119,756btc (worth about $70 million at current price levels). This is according to an answer given on social media site Reddit by the firm's Community Director, Zane Tackett, to an anonymous user.

The last time we reported on such a bounty by a hacked bitcoin exchange was in the case of Cryptsy, which did not end well for clients.