Hodl, a cryptocurrency exchange platform based in Estonia, has reported a security breach on its platform. A hacker may have gained access to Hodl’s API keys and passwords and cryptocurrency funds on the platform and transferred them to their personal addresses. The company is currently investigating the issue.
Hodl has disabled its website shortly after becoming aware of the security breach but will be back online soon. The company has stated that they are not able to provide further information at this time.
Hodl is a cryptocurrency exchange platform based in Estonia that provides users with a wallet and a trading interface that allows for the free exchange of bitcoin, ether, and other cryptocurrencies. At this time, there is no evidence as to how the hacker may have accessed the API keys and passwords or transferred crypto-currency funds to their personal addresses.
Hodl’s users should be cautious in their dealings with the platform until the company is able to give further information. Users are advised to monitor their accounts closely for any suspicious activity.
The official Twitter account of Hodl says they do not liquidate all their contracts, only some of them. Those contracts whose owners can’t be proven are being liquidated. It is not clear precisely what this means.
Hodl has provided the following statement to Cointelegraph regarding the recent security breach: “Liquidation of all open trades and deposits was carried out on April 27th – all users’ balances are intact at this moment. We do not have any evidence that any of the user’s funds were stolen. We are currently in the process of investigating what happened and how it affected our users.”
Last time Hodl tweeted about an exchange engine update. At 9:47 on April 26, the company announced that their trading platform is back online. Further tweets by the company noted that they are working hard to restore deposits, withdrawals, and user data. The website has been taken down for security checks. Further announcements will be made individually as each feature is restored. Hodl has also confirmed that the security breach is the reason behind their website being offline.
The world of cryptocurrency exchanges and trading platforms has come under scrutiny in recent years, with many members of the community calling for more effective regulations and security measures to be implemented by major exchanges. In January 2018, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb revealed that more than 35 billion won (approximately $31 million) worth of cryptocurrencies was stolen in a hack attack.
Earlier last year, Japan’s GMO, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the country, revealed that it had lost 5.3 billion yen ($50 million) worth of cryptocurrencies in a cyber attack. The said attack was conducted from January to September and targeted some GMO Coin users.