UPDATE (7, March 20:10 UTC): Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted that the irregular trades have been identified, and will be reversed. He also warned users to learn how to secure their accounts against future phishing attacks.
Binance has reassured customers that their money is still in their accounts following hours of speculation that the cryptocurrency exchange had been hacked.
“All funds are safe,” Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
Rumors that Binance has been hacked spread that morning after social media users reported seeing their balances at the exchange drained, sold at market rates and converted to viacoin. However, the exchange said its platform was not breached.
All funds are safe. There were irregularities in trading activity, automatic alarms triggered. Some accounts may have been compromised by phishing from before. We are still investigating. All funds are safe.
— CZ (not giving crypto away) (@cz_binance) March 7, 2018
In its initial statement on Reddit, Binance said it was investigating these reports, announcing all withdrawals had been suspended but pushing back against claims that the platform was hacked.
“As of this moment, the only confirmed victims have registered API keys (to use with trading bots or otherwise). There is no evidence of the Binance platform being compromised,” the post said. “Please remain patient and we will provide an update as quickly as possible.”
Discussion on Reddit indicated that investors using trading bots may have fallen victim to stolen API keys, but it is unclear how widespread the issue was.
Viacoin became one of the few cryptocurrencies to rise on the day, jumping more than 40 percent to $3.53, according to data site CoinMarketCap. Similarly, it saw a tenfold spike in trading volume on the day, beginning at roughly the same time as the hack rumors.
Meanwhile, bitcoin has recovered from its intraday low of less than $9,500 to about $9,675 as of press time, and prices appear to have stabilized according to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index (BPI).
Safe image via Shutterstock
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https://www.coindesk.com/funds-safe-binance-denies-crypto-hack-rumors/
