Bithumb has suspended trading after the latest cyber-heist saw the crypto exchange robbed of $36.6m (£24m) worth in currency last night.
The values of coins including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple have fallen in reaction to the news.
It is the second time in less than a year that the exchange has been breached. In June 2017, a computer of a Bithumb employee was hacked leading to access information of 30,000 users being leaked.
It is also the second time a leading South Korean exchange has been compromised this month, following that of Coinrail on June 10, demonstrating fundamental security flaws in the current cryptocurrency trading system.
Bithumb has assured its users that they will receive compensation, announcing that “all deposit and withdrawal services” will be halted and requesting customers not to deposit funds into Bithumb wallet addresses.
The exchange was said to have notified the Korea Internet and Security Agency of the attack shortly before announcing it to the public via its Twitter.
BBC News has noted that an earlier post on its Twitter account announced that a database update was being carried out as part of a security update, with assets being transferred to a cold wallet during the process, however, it’s unknown whether this is linked to the attack.
According to Coindesk, Bithumb ranked as the sixth-busiest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.
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