This article was originally published on The Daily Chain, 11th February 2020.
$330,000 worth of cryptocurrency stolen.
The Altsbit exchange alleged hack recently covered by Cointelegraph and other media outlets is significantly worse than reported. “Altsbit lost about $70,000 in Bitcoin and Ether” reported Cointelegraph yesterday, February 10th.
“After Altsbit first reported on the hack on Twitter on Feb. 6, the exchange released withdrawal instructions on Feb. 9. According to the statement, the hack caused Altsbit to have lost 6.929 Bitcoin (BTC) and 23 Ether (ETH), among losses in other cryptocurrencies such as Pirate Chain (ARRR), VerusCoin (VRSC) and and Komodo (KMD).”
— Cointelegraph, February 10th
Bizarrely, Cointelegraph and other media outlets buried the lead (or “lede” depending on your preference) and did not account for the losses in Pirate Chain (ARRR) and Verus Coin (VRSC), which increase the reported losses of $70,000 to $330,000.
Pirate Chain, whose next reward halving is expected at the end of this month, was most heavily hit with a staggering 3,924,082 coins stolen, or about 2% of the total supply stolen (4% of the circulating supply). At the time of publishing this amounts to $219,748 at 5.6 cents a coin.
However, Verus holders fared even worse. 414,154 VRSC, or $35,203 at 8.5 cents a coin, were also stolen. Verus holders will be compensated less than Pirate Chain holders, and will receive a 51% refund while ARRR holders can expect a 59% refund. Refunding commenced February 10th and will continue into May at which point the Italian exchange will shutter its doors, cease trading, and close down.
The Lulz Boat
On February 8th a twitter account, The Lulz Boat (@LulzSec), took credit for the theft and boasted:
“We assure that @altsbit didn’t had proper security to stop Lulz Canon. Many others to follow. Better Stack up the Security”
— Note to other Exchanges #ForTheLulz
At this time there are no indications that any police or criminal investigations are under way, or that the Italian authorities have been notified about the theft.
More details will be published here on TDC as the story unfolds.
