Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      The little-known company disrupting Eskom’s monopoly

      16 June 2025

      Public money, private plans: MPs demand Post Office transparency

      13 June 2025

      Coal to cash: South Africa gets major boost for energy shift

      13 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » World » Cryptocurrency markets: a history of heists

    Cryptocurrency markets: a history of heists

    By Agency Staff29 January 2018
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    The US$500m heist of digital tokens from Japanese exchange Coincheck on Friday is remarkable for its sheer size, but thefts in the lightly regulated world of cryptocurrencies are woefully frequent.

    In less than a decade, hackers have stolen $1.2bn worth of bitcoin and ether, two of the most popular digital currencies, according to Lex Sokolin, global director of fintech strategy at Autonomous Research. If measured at today’s elevated prices, the figure would be much higher.

    Here’s a look at some of the biggest thefts since 2012.

    December 2017

    NiceHash, a crypto-mining marketplace based in Slovenia, said on its Facebook page that its payment system was compromised and as much as $63m worth of bitcoin was stolen. The firm added extra security measures and sought the community’s help to analyse the breach. Youbit said it would file for bankruptcy hours after losing 17% of its assets in a cyberattack. The South Korean exchange had suffered what it called an “accident” in April and its owner encouraged clients to keep their tokens in a safer form. South Korean investigators are looking into North Korea’s possible involvement in the hack.

    November 2017

    A security hole in the Parity Wallet resulted in losses of about $155m, including in ether and other tokens. The company behind tether said a “malicious” attacker stole $31m worth of the cryptocurrency and sent them to an unauthorised bitcoin address.

    July 2017

    A group calling itself the White Hat Group exploited a bug in the Parity Wallet software and attempted to launder stolen ether, valued at about $30m according to Security Week, through exchanges. Just minutes after CoinDash’s launch of an initial coin offering, hackers made off with as much as $6.6m worth of ether. The Israel-based firm terminated its token sale.

    April 2017

    A Bithumb contract worker’s personal computer that stored customers’ data files was hacked, resulting in the leak of personal and trading information of more than 30 000 users. The South Korean crypto-exchange was fined 58.5m won ($55 000) by the local regulator for the breach.

    August 2016

    Bitfinex said hackers took 119 756 Bitcoin, valued at about $65m. In April 2017, the exchange said it had repaid all customers.

    June 2016

    Decentralised Autonomous Organisation, a leaderless venture-capital fund and what was then the highest-profile project using ethereum, was hacked. About $50m of members’ contributions to the fund were siphoned off.

    May 2016

    Hong Kong-based Gatecoin had about $2m in bitcoin and ether stolen following a cyberattack.

    March 2015

    Two former US federal agents who helped probe the illegal Silk Road Internet drug emporium were charged with wrongfully pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in bitcoin.

    January 2015

    Bitstamp’s CEO reassured customers that the bulk of their bitcoins were safe after $5m of the coins were stolen, according to a Fortune report.

    February 2014

    Mt Gox, once the world’s biggest bitcoin exchange, reported that tokens valued at about $480m had gone missing. The firm filed for bankruptcy in Japan and the US, and said the disappearance was probably the result of a “massive theft”.

    September 2012

    BitFloor, based in New York, lost about $250 000 in Bitcoin after it was hacked. Months later in April 2013, the exchange announced it would shut and refund customer deposits, Bitcoin Magazine reported.  — Reported by Andrea Tan and Yuji Nakamura, with assistance from Benjamin Robertson, (c) 2018 Bloomberg LP



    Bitcoin Coincheck ether Ethereum Mt Gox top
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleHow secure is your data in the cloud?
    Next Article SpaceX readies Falcon Heavy for first test flight

    Related Posts

    Bitcoin smashes R2-million mark in record-breaking rally

    22 May 2025

    Trump tariffs are now slamming crypto

    7 April 2025

    How stablecoins could unlock trade in South Africa

    1 April 2025
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.