QUADRIGA INITIATIVE
CRYPTO WATCHDOG & FRAUD RECOVERY PLATFORM
A COMMUNITY-BASED, NOT-FOR-PROFIT
$3 300 000 USD
APRIL 2018
INDIA
COINSECURE
DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS
“In what may be the biggest virtual currency exchange heist in India to date, 438 bitcoin (BTC), currently worth $3.5 million, have gone missing from Coinsecure, and the exchange thinks an employee has run off with the money.” "According to a statement on the company’s website, the funds were lost as a result of the exposure of private keys, the cryptographic code that unlocks and moves blockchain-based assets, by the company’s chief security officer Dr. Amitabh Saxena in an attempt to distribute bitcoin gold (BTG) to customers." “Coinsecure has made it clear they will reimburse customers in one way or another. Option one is more favorable as it would result in the stolen money being returned. If that were to happen, customer balances will be corrected by the exchange automatically.” “However, if recovery of siphoned BTC is not possible, then we will apply the lock in rates as of the 9th of April, 2018. 10% of the Coin Holding Balance will be refunded in BTC and 90% will be returned in INR.” “Customers who were affected by the early April heist ware required to sign an agreement that, controversially, absolves the exchange operator of any future inabilities and turned in physically to Coinsecure’s office before June 30th, 2019.” “We will not entertain any claims received after June 30, 2018 and we shall have no liability towards any users who try to submit claims after the said date.”
What’s the opposite of multi-sig? Its one private key shared among multiple people - exactly the control structure on this exchange. Having a joint account like this means either party can screw the other and anyone else by taking the money, whenever they feel like. As a fork of bitcoin, bitcoin gold also supports multi-sig using the exact same signatures, so there is no excuse for this kind of carelessness when it comes to client funds. If you were an unfortunate victim of this exchange, you had a 5 day period in which to submit claims (including signing away all future liability), after which you were just plain out of luck for your losses.
100 Crypto Thefts: A Timeline of Hacks, Glitches, Exit Scams, and other Lost Cryptocurrency Incidents (Jan 25)
A cryptocurrency exchange had $3.5 million stolen — and thinks its security chief ran off with the money (Feb 28)
$3.5 Million in Bitcoin Missing From India’s Coinsecure Exchange – Bitcoin Magazine (Feb 28)
Tried checking under the sofa? Indian BTC exchange Coinsecure finds itself $3.5m lighter • The Register (Feb 28)
Coinsecure Confirms Victims of Recent Hack Will be Refunded Soon (Feb 28)
Coinsecure [Finally] Reveals Claims Process for $3 Million Bitcoin Theft (Feb 28)
Coinsecure Offers 10% Bounty on $3 Million Theft, Customer Refunds in Rupees Not Bitcoin (Feb 28)
Coinsecure May Refund in Rupees, Not Bitcoin After $3.4 Million Heist - CoinDesk (Feb 28)
Bitcoin Scams and Cryptocurrency Hacks List - BitcoinExchangeGuide.com (Mar 5)
SlowMist Hacked - SlowMist Zone (Jun 26)
