Youbit, a South Korean bitcoin exchange, has decided to shut down and is filing for bankruptcy after it was hacked for the second time this year, highlighting concerns about security in trading of virtual currencies.
A notice on the company’s website posted on Tuesday said that at around 4:35 a.m. an external hack resulted in the loss of about 17 percent of total assets. As a result of the cyber attack, Youbit decided to halt all trades, deposits and withdrawals as of Dec. 19.
The exchange had been hacked once before in April when nearly 4,000 bitcoins then worth 5.5 billion won ($5.08 million) were stolen in a cyber attack, of which South Korean officials suspect North Koreans to be behind.
Losses are like in multi-billion dollars, although the company did not specify.
The company said it will try out to minimize the loss of customers by about 15 percent through insurance coverage and selling its operating rights.
In Korea, about 30 bitcoin exchanges are in operation but some small exchanges are known to be vulnerable to security risks.
By Oh Chan-jong and Minu Kim
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