On 2 August 2016, a hack of cryptocurrency exchange platform Bitfinex resulted in the theft of somewhere between 120,000 and 200,000 bitcoins with a total estimated value of up to US$70 million.
The attack followed two smaller scale thefts from other bitcoin exchanges earlier this year, and the largest reported hack, of the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox exchange, in 2014.
In the immediate wake of the latest hacking attack, the value of bitcoin plummeted by 20 per cent, recovering almost 18 per cent two days later.
However, Bitfinex evidently intends to 'generalise' losses among its users by charging them approximately 36 per cent of their account balances.
Think for a moment of the likely reaction if a bank reacted to a theft from one of its branches by charging its entire depositor base a fee of 36 per cent of their account balances.
http://www.investordaily.com.au/analysis/39926-how-cyber-security-is-failing-cryptocurrencies
