Bithumb Plan to Compensate Customers. South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has announced the 11 cryptocurrencies stolen in last week’s theft and the amount of each coin missing. A compensation plan has also been unveiled for the equivalent value of the lost coins in an undetermined cryptocurrency.
Only Half As Much Crypto Missing
Bithumb officially announced Thursday the details of the cryptocurrency theft which it reported on June 20. Since then, the exchange has been cooperating with the authorities to investigate the cause of the theft.
Initially, the exchange estimated that the “damage caused by the cyber-attack was about 35 billion KWR [~US$31 million],” but that amount was revised to “about 19 billion KRW instead [~$17 million]” after undergoing a “continuous recovery process.” The exchange elaborated:
The main reason for the reduction of the damage is due to the ongoing participation, support and cooperation of cryptocurrency exchanges and cryptocurrencies foundations across the world. Also our quick response to the cyber-attack by removing cryptocurrencies from hot wallet to cold wallet effectively contributed to reducing the overall damage.
At the time of this writing, Bithumb is South Korea’s largest crypto exchange with a 24-hour trading volume of $136,432,719, followed by the Kakao-backed Upbit with $110,435,824 trading volume in the same time period, according to Coinmarketcap.
Which Coins Were Stolen?
Bithumb has provided a breakdown of the 11 cryptocurrencies that it claims were stolen. They are BCH, BTC, ELF, ETH, ETHOS, GNT, HSR, KNC, OMG, VEN, and XRP. The largest damage is in BTC, which had about 13.9 billion won (~$12,377,255) stolen. According to Bithumb, the total amount stolen is 18,945,911,857 KRW or $16,892,614.
Compensation Plan
Bithumb has also revealed its plan to compensate all affected users. Reiterating that it takes full responsibility, the exchange announced that it is organizing “a compensation airdrop event.”
Members must apply for compensation from the theft to be eligible for the distribution.
For the inconvenience of keeping customers’ coins tied up, the exchange is offering interest between the time of application to the date they are fully compensated. “The annual interest rate of 10% will be prorated over the [compensation] period, hence the longer you hold, the higher compensation becomes,” Bithumb emphasized. “The amount of cryptocurrencies held will be calculated from 8:00 PM ~ 9:00 PM (UTC+9) each day starting from the date of application until the end of the [compensation] period.”
However, the eventual selection of which cryptocurrency customers will be reimbursed in has not yet been determined, Bithumb detailed, stating:
The equivalent value of cryptocurrencies will be given away in a form of an airdrop (the type of cryptocurrency is not decided yet).
Commission Fee-Free Coupons
In addition, Bithumb is offering commission fee-free trading coupons for all interested customers for the inconvenience caused to them, starting on June 28.
“Commission fee-free coupons will be available for purchase each day (the coupon is zero cost, useable for 1 day and it can be purchased once UKevery day),” Bithumb detailed, adding that once it is purchased, it does not stack and can only be purchased when another coupon expires@BPI
