BitStamp, one of the world’s leading Bitcoin exchange platform, recently informed its users about suspending its services temporarily in the wake of a security malfunction.
According to the available sources, the Slovenia-based exchange allegedly suffered an RNG attack following which its hot wallets stopped processing deposits and withdrawals. It is the same attack which impacted Blockchain.INFO last month. As per BitStamp informed its users, no coins were lost in the incidence. However, the private keys to old addresses might have been lost, or stolen. The notice said:
Dear customer,
Today our transaction processing server detected problems with our hot wallet and stopped processing withdrawals.
You should STOP SENDING bitcoin deposits to your Bitstamp account IMMEDIATELY as private keys of your deposit address may be lost.
Your bitcoins already deposited with us are stored in a cold wallet and cannot be affected.
We will send you more info as soon as possible.
Best regards,
Bitstamp team
The exchange further spoke to the media and said that they are currently trying to figure out the length and breadth of this issue before making any necessary move. They although sounded relaxed as no Bitcoin were stolen in the alleged attack. “This seems to be a server issue and not a compromise but our teams are still investigating,” one of BitStamp’s representatives told CoinFire.
Meanwhile, detractors kept jumping to conclusions by comparing this incident with last year’s Mt Gox collapse. Dogecoin creator Jackson Palmer, being one of the active voices of the cryptocurrency community, however rubbished such claims, and supported the idea of a RNG attack.
“If it was an RNG attack then changes are they could have been getting skimmer for a while,” he added.
