In this article, we’re going to take you through some of the biggest bitcoin hacking incidents in the history of cryptocurrency, giving you an idea of what you need to avoid. The top 5 biggest bitcoin hacks ever, which are discussed below. If you want to start bitcoin trading check several great tips and tricks to secure the digital wallet .
1. Mt. Gox
The biggest and first incident of bitcoin hacking was done by Mt. Gox which is one of the most famous hackings. This event occurred on June 2011 in which more than 2600 BTC were lost. Mt. Gox has been working on the Bitcoin (BTC) exchange since 2010, one of the largest bitcoin exchanges based in Japan. Talking about the exchange, it was hacked not once but twice. But few people know about it. The first hack occurred in June 2011, when hacker Mt. Gox managed to seize the auditor’s credentials and then transferred over 2600 BTC to an address to which Mt. Gox did not have a key.
Because of this, Mt. Gox’s operations were suspended, but they were still able to gain the trust of users and maintain themselves in the market. The second hack occurred in 2014, when more than 70% of the world’s bitcoin transactions were being controlled by Mt. Gox. The amount of BTC leaked in this hack was huge, almost completely drowning the business of Mt. Gox. When this happened, Mt. Gox immediately ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy, saying that approximately 750,000 BTC had disappeared from the exchange, Sadly, investors’ money was lost.
2. Bitfinex
Bitfinex, the second and biggest bitcoin hack after Mt Gox, happened in August 2016. In which there was a loss of about 120,000 BTC. Because attackers were able to exploit vulnerabilities in both Bitfinex and BitGo multisig wallet architectures that made it even easier to hack. But one cool thing about it was that Bitfinex issued victims BFX tokens that could be redeemed in USD, after which most of their investors continuously returned their money.
3. Bitfloor
Another bitcoin exchange was stolen by hackers in September 2012. In which hackers were able to get hold of private keys like unencrypted and kept online for backup. The amount of BTC stolen was approximately 24,000. Although users may be refunded by Bitfloor, its regulatory measures have led to the closure of banks as stated by the founders.
4. Bitstamp
It was established in 2011 as an alternative to Mount Gox. But even this option was not safe for Mount Gox as it too was hacked in 2015. On January 4, 2015, Bitstamp’s operational hot wallet announced that it had been hacked by an unnamed hacker, with the loss of approximately 19,000 bitcoins. Following the incident, Bitstamp decided to suspend operations with this notice. Bitstamp has won back the trust of users and it is still working. It has achieved stringent security measures, such as the BitGo multisig wallet for operational purposes, since the hacking.
5. Binance Hack
Binance is one of the popular exchanges and it was hacked on 7th May 2019 in which around 6000 Bitcoin (BTC) were lost. When it was hacked, it was worth more than $40 million at that time. However, it was announced by the team that they will cover all lost funds through their fundraiser and no user should be affected by this hack. When a large-scale security breach was detected, hackers were able to obtain a user’s 2FA code, API key, and potentially more information. In this, a variety of techniques were used by the hackers, including phishing, viruses and many other attacks.
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