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Bitcoin Higher as Coincheck Exchange Promises Refund after Hack

Published 01/28/2018, 06:35 AM
Updated 01/28/2018, 06:35 AM
© Reuters.  Bitcoin higher as Coincheck exchange promises refund after hack

Investing.com - The price of digital currency bitcoin along with major cryptocurrencies moved higher on Sunday after one of Japan's largest digital currency exchanges said it will refund most of the $425 million worth of virtual assets lost in a hacking attack.

Bitcoin was trading at $11,886 by 06:32 AM ET (11:32 AM GMT) on the Bitfinex exchange.

Ethereum, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was last at $1,241.10 on the Bitfinex exchange.

Meanwhile, Ripple's XRP token was trading at $1.26 on the Poloniex exchange.

Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck said in a statement on Sunday that it would use its own funds to reimburse around 46 billion yen ($425m) that the company lost to hackers in an attack on Friday.

Coincheck said the amount it has promised to return covers nearly 90% of the coins lost in the attack.

The company suspended trading after detecting "unauthorized access" of its digital exchange. Around 260,000 customers were reported to be affected by the theft.

In 2014 MtGox, another Tokyo exchange, collapsed after admitting that almost half a billion dollars had been stolen from its network.

The theft underlines security and regulatory concerns about digital currencies amid an exponential increase in demand and price during recent months.

Global financial leaders, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin struck a cautionary tone on cryptocurrencies during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week.

Mnuchin said that the "illicit use" of cryptocurrencies is a major concern for American regulators.

"My number-one focus on cryptocurrencies, whether that be digital currencies or bitcoin or other things, is that we want to make sure that they’re not used for illicit activities," he said.

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