104  Blockchain

• In March 2019, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange was the

victim of a suspected insider job. 3 million EOS and 20 million XRP

were stolen.

• In February 2019, the Coinbin cryptocurrency exchange (formerly

known as Youbit and later rebranded as Coinbin) was hacked. It

appears this hack was an insider job. The employee allegedly had

access to private keys and was able to transfer funds from multiple

accounts. Coinbin filed for bankruptcy and shut down whilst still

owing users about $30 million.

• In February 2019, cryptocurrency exchange Coinmama users’ data

were leaked and shared on the dark web. It was a less conventional

hack as rather than stealing money, hackers stole users’ personal data

(450,000 user emails and passwords) from the exchange. Coinmama

informed the users rapidly once they learned that users’ data are being

leaked on the dark web.

• In January 2019, New Zealand-based crypto exchange called

Cryptopia was hacked and hackers stole 1,674 ETH. This was the

second hack 15 days after the first one. They are now going through

the liquidation process.

• In January 2019, a New Zealand-based crypto exchange called

Cryptopia had a security breach. The exact amount stolen in the hack

is still unknown.

• In December 2018, the Canadian largest cryptocurrency exchange

called QuadrigaCX, owned by Gerald Cotton had a disastrous inci-

dent losing 26,350 BTC. Gerald Cotton was the only person who knew

the cold wallets belonging to the exchange. In December 2018 Gerald

Cotton died whilst on his honeymoon in India. During the investiga-

tion, six cold wallets were identified but five of them had emptied

around April 2018. No one is really sure or knows what happened and

how to track the money; however, investigations are ongoing.

• In October 2018, a small Canadian cryptocurrency exchange called

MapleChange was in a debatable hacking incident (whether it was a

hack or another scam). All funds worth $5.7 million (or 913 BTC)

were withdrawn. As a result, MapleChange announced that it was

closing its doors for good (the website was removed, and social media

accounts, discord and telegram channels were removed).

• In September 2018, a Japanese exchange called Zaif was hacked with

5,966 BTC. It is unclear as to how hackers stole the funds; however,

Zaif did file a criminal case with their local authorities. They lost about

$60 million worth of cryptocurrency at that time valuation of BTC.

• In June 2018, a small cryptocurrency exchange called Coinrail was

hacked. Hackers stoke 1,927 ETH, 2.6 billion NPXS, 93 million

ATX, 831 million dent coins and a large amount of six other tokens.

In total, the exchange lost an estimated $40 million.