Devastating news hit the Bitcoin sphere today as Hong Kong exchange called, Mycoin was forced to close after bungling errors resulted in a loss of over $46 Billion HK.
The announcement below was made by Yahoo Japan, as it reported on the scale and damage of the loss. With Hong Kong a Bitcoin country, a loss of one of the major exchanges has led to devestation spreading through out the rest of the Bitcoin markets. With alarm bells ringing across the country customers are furios as over 3000 Bitcoins were lost.
【香港時事】インターネット上の仮想通貨「ビットコイン」を扱う香港の私設取引所「マイコイン」が顧客に連絡しないまま、閉鎖されたことが分かった。地元ラジオによると、顧客から相談を受けた立法会（議会）の梁耀忠議員は8日、記者会見し、香港の顧客は約3000人で、約30億香港ドル（約460億円）相当のビットコインが引き出せなくなったようだと説明した。
Source – Yahoo JP
The quote above simply describes how the exchange a named MyCoin was subject to the disaster as 46 Billion yen were stolen/lost on the exchange. A amount this big caused shockwaves throughout the entire Bitcoin infrastructure as the Bitcoin prices around the world reacted to the devastating news. Prices dropped around $4 from $227 to $223 which is the current price.
Causes
There have been many fingers pointed with the blame game being played as the culprits of the loss are being hunted. down. Some suspect a insider was the cause of the loss, as it is suspected the security systems of the exchange were breach from the inside leading to a loss of this scale. While thefts and security from outside sources can do damage to a exchange, recent attacks have been proven useless with the recent attack on Bitstamp only netting a amount under 100 Bitcoins, around 30x less than the scale of MyCoin loss. We attempted to reach out to the exchange in question but no reply was sent. At the moment the situation is shrouded in a layer of darkness as your guess is as good as mine as to where 46 Billion yen have disappeared.
Speculation
What will these news bring for the future of Bitcoin in Hong Kong ? Whilst it may not completelty halt the trade of cryptocurrencies in the financial hub of the world, this event has put a irrepairable dent on the reputation of Bitcoin. Whilst China may be considered out of the Bitcoin game Hong Kong remains one of Bitcoins greenest pastures with new money streaming in at a constant pace. However with the closure of what was one of Hong Kong’s biggest exchanges the price may inevitably be impacted and sentiment may also decrease regarding Bitcoin. One question does remain, what would have caused this sort of loss. Whilst theft and fraud also seem possible the current case echoes the crash of MtGox. Once the biggest exchange handling Bitcoin the fraud caused not only the closure of the exchange but also sent Bitcoin into the downward spiral we are currently in. With the effects felt till this day the crash is known as one of the worst ever events to hit Bitcoin.
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