Cryptopia Re-Opens to Allow Users to View Balances

The New Zealand-based exchange was the first casualty of 2019 for the cryptocurrency community, having lost around nine percent of its funds, according to an official statement. Shortly after revealing the security breach, the exchange had shut down all its operations and commenced cooperation with New Zealand law enforcement. While the investigation regarding the hack and the exact loss incurred by the exchange is still ongoing, Cryptopia has brought the platform back online with a snapshot from Jan 14 — the date before the breach.

Update: The read-only site is now live. The holding balance from the 14th Jan is pre hack and we will be using these holdings as a baseline for calculating rebates moving forwards.

— Cryptopia Exchange (@Cryptopia_NZ) March 5, 2019

Cryptopia Returning From The Crypt

The re-launch of the platform was much anticipated by the community — especially the two million users that had been directly affected by this attack. Cryptopia has also confirmed that all of the rebates to users that suffered losses will be based on the snapshot before the attack. While some users have already been reporting that their balance has remained intact on the exchange, it’s still unclear whether this will change or not after accounting for the hack and the subsequent rebates. The nature and amount of the rebates are still unknown.

Can Cryptopia Recover?

Hacks and security breaches have been part and parcel of the cryptocurrency industry throughout its entire existence. Many exchanges have been the targets of attacks — and not all of them have managed to continue their operations or recover user funds. While Cryptopia should have taken precautionary measures to protect user funds, it’s an encouraging sign that the platform has worked its way towards recovery. The exchange has migrated user wallets to a new server and aims to provide enhanced security for user assets, according to Peter Dawson, Director at Cryptopia, who stated:

People will be able to see their balance. It’s our objective to secure every client’s assets as quickly as we can.

The re-occurrence of a security breach resulting in the loss of user funds is a reminder that centralized cryptocurrency exchanges represent a single point of failure and that users should keep as much of their funds as possible in their own wallets. At the same time, the swift recovery of Cryptopia is a sign that the cryptocurrency industry is evolving to offer better investor asset protection. Were you affected by the Cryptopia hack? Have you tried to access the platform to check your balance? Let us know about your experience in the comments below!