On Aug. 7, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange (by daily trade volume), fell victim to a hacking scandal that saw the miscreant allegedly gain possession of a huge chunk of the firm’s Know Your Customer (KYC) data (10,000+ personal photos). The hacker is reportedly demanding a total of 300 Bitcoins (worth around $3.5 million) from the exchange, or else he or she will release all of the data. Also, it bears mentioning that upon commencing his activities, the hacker set up a couple of dedicated Telegram groups (which have since been shut down) that allegedly featured a lot of …

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitholic has changed its name to Bithumb Singapore this month. Bithumb, for its part, is known as a cryptocurrency exchange based in South Korea. Local media News1 Korea shared the announcement in a report on Aug. 8. According to the report, the name change is part of an overseas expansion for Bithumb; however, the paper notes that Bithumb’s equity structure remains unknown. According to the announcement, the exchange’s name change occurred sometime this month. Moreover, a Bithumb official reportedly confirmed with the outlet that “Bitholic plans to launch a coin trading business under the name of Bithumb …

One of South Korea’s biggest banks is planning to intensify regulations on accounts linked to crypto exchanges, BEI News reported on July 1. The “special measures” Shinhan Bank are proposing would reportedly involve dedicating staff to analyzing account transactions. It is believed the bank is hoping to distance itself from claims that it is helping financial criminals, amid a rise in the number of fraud cases involving exchanges. Later in July, the bank is also hoping to launch an artificial intelligence monitoring system that uses deep learning to identify fraudulent transactions more quickly and accurately. BEI News quoted a Shinhan …

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has been prosecuted for its alleged failure to take adequate measures to protect personal information, which was later presumably exploited by hackers to steal funds from the platform. The news was reported by Cointelegraph Japan on June 19. Prosecutors allege the data breach led directly to the second hack affecting the platform, in which almost $7 million in user funds was stolen. As Cointelegraph has previously reported, Bithumb first notified authorities of a major data breach in late June 2017, thought to have affected around 31,000 exchange user accounts. The data leak is believed to …

This article was updated to reflect that Bitrue has now acknowledged the hack of its platform. Throughout the past six months, seven crypto exchanges have reportedly seen large-scale hacking attacks to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, with the most recent platform to suffer a security breach being GateHub. As the global crypto exchange market continues to see an increasing number of security breaches leading to the loss of user funds, investors may become reluctant to rely on centralized exchanges to store funds. Bitrue hack The month of June was characterized by two unfortunate cryptocurrency thefts. On June …

The shutdown of Coinnest on April 18, one of the major crypto exchanges in South Korea, showcased the intense brutality of the 16-month bear market, which came crashing down as soon as bitcoin achieved an all-time high at a price of $20,000. While not many major crypto exchanges have closed their operations in the past year, most exchanges — with the exception of some platforms considered to have real daily volumes by Bitwise Asset Management — have struggled to maintain a stable inflow of revenue. The bear market was particularly difficult for small exchanges that are known to strategically inflate …

The CEO of Singapore-based Blockchain Exchange Alliance (BXA) — which has a controlling stake in major South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb — has revealed plans to expand to the American and Japanese markets. The news was reported by Cointelegraph Japan on April 18. BXA CEO BK Kim told Cointelegraph Japan in an interview that BXA’s strategy is to pursue a so-called reverse merger route by acquiring a publicly-traded company that is already listed on either Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The route can be a faster way to take a company public than a traditional Initial Public …

In late March, major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb lost around $18 million as a result of a hack. While the details are still sketchy — for instance, it is unclear whether or not it was an inside job, as Bithumb initially claimed — a large portion of the stolen funds have been frozen by various exchanges who received them from hackers attempting to sell the loot. However, despite Bithumb stressing that the hijacked assets belonged to the company and not to its clients, the customers still can’t access their funds, since withdrawals and deposits have been disabled as part …

The parent company of major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has received $200 million in funding from Japan’s ST Blockchain Fund, the latter confirmed in a press release shared with Cointelegraph Japan on April 15. The cash, which forms part of a Series A funding round, will allow Blockchain Exchange Alliance (BXA) to expand the international side of Bithumb, which is already one of South Korea’s largest exchanges. New trading pairs will also appear, the press release notes. ST Blockchain Fund is based in Japan, but features participation from investors throughout the world, including Europe and the United States. “The …

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has conducted a professional external audit of its funds after a major hack last month, the company confirmed in a statement on April 11. Bithumb, South Korea’s largest exchange, lost around 14 billion won ($13 million) two weeks ago in an event executives believe was masterminded by an insider. Now, Bithumb has used a third party to assess its reserves, repeating its previous assurances that customer funds remained safe in cold storage wallets. The 14 billion of hacked EOS (EOS) tokens, a previous statement said, represented company-only funds. All remaining funds in its hot wallet …

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb had a net loss of 205 billion won ($180 million) in 2018 due to the Bitcoin (BTC) bear market, local English-language daily news outlet Korea Times reported on April 11. Citing data from the exchange’s operator, BTCKorea.com, the publication revealed Bithumb, South Korea’s largest exchange, endured the extensive losses despite sales growing 17.5% compared to 2017. “In terms of sales, we saw a 17% increase, and we continue to increase overseas investments,” a spokesman added in private comments. Bithumb’s performance falls in line with other similar losses in the cryptocurrency industry, which accepted the growing …

Top Stories This Week Owner of ICO That Never Happened Attempts to Sell Project on eBay for $60,000 The owner of a crypto-related startup dubbed Sponsy, which never launched its initial coin offering (ICO), is attempting to sell the project on eBay for $60,000. The project is described as a blockchain-related identity that is able to launch both an ICO and a security token offering (STO), with the author of the posting claiming that the project was both audited by an investment firm and approved by several investment banks. Sponsy also claims to have a solid social presence, although its …