Cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia hacked with $11 million stolen

New Zealand-based cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia suffered a malicious hack on Monday, with more than $11 million reportedly stolen from the site.

The website is currently offline due to forced maintenance, but the company released a statement on Twitter where they admitted a “breach” had resulted in “significant losses.”

The statement read: “Yesterday 14th January 2019, the Cryptopia Exchange suffered a breach which resulted in significant losses. Once identified by staff, the exchange was put into maintenance while we assessed damages.”

“Staff then notified and involved appropriate government agencies, including the NZ police and High Tech Crimes Unit who are jointly and actively investigating the matter as a major crime and they are assisting us with advice.

“Until this has been carried out, the Cryptopia Exchange will remain in maintenance mode, with trading suspended. We are committed to getting this resolved as quickly as possible and will keep you updated every step of the way.”

A wallet with the suspected stolen funds has been tracked down on Etherscan, with the total balance of tokens sitting at more than $11 million.

Cryptopia is the latest in a long line of cryptocurrency exchanges to be hacked over the years. Last year, Japanese exchange Coincheck fell victim to the largest crypto heist in history, with more than $496 million being siphoned out of the site.

Mt Gox’s infamous demise saw a loss of $357 million, while BitGrail suffered a hack in February 2018, losing $175 million.

Cryptopia’s response over the coming days and weeks will be key. Coincheck managed to refund their customers in full, eventually securing a license from Japanese regulators, as reported last week by Coin Rivet.

Customers on Twitter have voiced their concerns in regards to Cryptopia’s security breach, with questions being asked about why so many tokens were being held in hot wallets.