Bitstamp

Bitstamp, a Slovenia-based Bitcoin exchange founded in 2011, endured a significant breach on January 4, 2015, losing 19,000 BTC, valued at approximately $5 million USD. The attack targeted the exchange’s hot wallet, an internet-connected system holding 10-15% of its funds for active trading, as reported by Fortune. Despite maintaining 85-90% of assets in secure offline cold storage, the compromised wallet led to a temporary suspension of trading, withdrawals, and deposits on January 5. CEO Nejc Kodrič promptly informed users via Twitter, assuring that pre-suspension balances would be honored in full, with the stolen amount representing a small fraction of Bitstamp’s reserves, previously audited at 180,000 BTC ($100 million) in May 2014. The hack, occurring at Bitcoin’s price of roughly $270 per coin per CoinGecko, shook the industry, coming less than a year after Mt. Gox’s collapse. Bitstamp cooperated with law enforcement to investigate, identifying a suspicious transaction of 18,866 BTC, though no culprits were named.

The breach disrupted reliant services like BitPay, which excluded Bitstamp’s data from exchange rate calculations to maintain stability. While customer funds were unaffected, the incident dented Bitstamp’s reputation as a secure platform, prompting enhanced security measures like multi-signature wallets and Xapo cold storage partnerships. In the minimally regulated crypto environment of 2015, Bitstamp’s transparency and commitment to cover losses mitigated fallout, but the hack fueled demands for stronger defenses, employee training, and offline storage to protect the cryptocurrency ecosystem.