QUADRIGA INITIATIVE
CRYPTO WATCHDOG & FRAUD RECOVERY PLATFORM
A COMMUNITY-BASED, NOT-FOR-PROFIT
$91 000 USD
MAY 2012
NEW ZEALAND
BITCOINICA
DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS
"Today, we have discovered a suspicious Bitcoin transaction that doesn't seem to be initiated by any one of the company owners..." speculation has been that A. Vinnik was involved (same as Mt Gox, BTC-e) “On May 6, 2012, bitcoin exchange Bitcoinica announced that their hot wallet had been hacked. The exchange told users that they had “discovered a suspicious bitcoin transaction that doesn’t seem to be initiated by any one of the company owners.” The hot wallet hack was initially suspected to be linked to Bitcoinica owner A. Vinnik, leading some to suspect it was an exit scam.”
This shows a definite need for hot wallet insurance. Reduction in the level of funds stored in hot wallets would reduce the risk.
HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN PREVENTED?
This is a case where simply knowing who's holding the funds and storing them properly offline with multiple signatures would have avoided the issues.
Infographic: An Overview of Compromised Bitcoin Exchange Events (Jan 30)
The Bitcoin Exchange Thefts You May Have Forgotten | Featured Bitcoin News (Jan 29)
Users sue Bitcoin exchange over $460k in missing funds (Feb 3)
List of Major Bitcoin Heists, Thefts, Hacks, Scams, and Losses [Old] (Jan 28)
Bitcoinica: An Obituary (Feb 4)
Bitcoinica - Bitcoin Wiki (Feb 4)
100 Crypto Thefts: A Timeline of Hacks, Glitches, Exit Scams, and other Lost Cryptocurrency Incidents (Jan 25)
List of Major Bitcoin Heists, Thefts, Hacks, Scams, and Losses (Feb 15)
Bitcoin Scams and Cryptocurrency Hacks List - BitcoinExchangeGuide.com (Mar 5)
SlowMist Hacked - SlowMist Zone (Jun 26)
