QUADRIGA INITIATIVE
CRYPTO WATCHDOG & FRAUD RECOVERY PLATFORM
A COMMUNITY-BASED, NOT-FOR-PROFIT
UNKNOWN
MARCH 2019
UNITED KINGDOM
MERCATOX
DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS
"Mercatox is a centralized cryptocurrency exchange founded in October 2015. At the moment, it has over half a million active users. By some accounts, this exchange is one of the top 100 cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume. Mercatox supports numerous cryptocurrencies (over 400 coins which means that some of the currencies can be barely found on other exchanges) and provides a convenient trading interface." "Mercatox ICO started on 2016-11-20."
Mercatox "is a Trading Platform for the user that want to trade cryptocurrency by using Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin." "Mercatox is a service for accessing e-currency and cryptocurrency exchange markets. It is a peer-to-peer exchange of electronic currencies, where users can exchange any digital title signs- E-wallet with a wide range of payment instruments for personal and commercial use-convenient and advantageous platform for trade."
"Mercatox came as one of a big cryptocurrency exchange as the answer for the people who want to trade cryptocurrency. Being a modern service for accessing the cryptocurrency exchange market which can be used by all trader levels - Beginner to Professional." "We are always glad to provide a convenient experience for users to access Cryptocurrency Market on our exchange by giving the interesting interface, quick responding and best support."
"Mercatox with its 600,000+ users has been listed on Coinmarketcap as the one of top 100 exchange - per November 2019 and we hope we can further be developed with our various future development plans." "Mercatox is located in the United Kingdom. However, users from around the globe can access the exchange, including those based in the United States.""
"[O]n January 2, 2018, Mercatox posted the following on its Facebook page: “Due to a high overload of our system and attempts of DDoS attacks, we forced temporarily to suspend the website for upgrading our hardware and software. The service will be restored as soon as possible. All coins are SAFE! Sorry for the inconvenience.”"
"May 20, 2018 - Following a sudden ~15 hour maintenance due to 'hackers', Mercatox has reopened with sudden restrictions on trading and (most concerningly) fund withdrawals on some users, including myself. The community is advised to avoid the exchange until issues are resolved. Bitgrail exhibited a nearly identical pattern of behavior directly leading up to its insolvency. This is a very upsetting turn of events for me, but I hope that others can avoid the same problems as Mercatox is still taking new deposits."
"Hard_fail attack" "In March 2019, Mercatox Exchange was attacked, losing thousands of EOS;" "The attacker launched a hard_fail attack on the exchange and profited thousands of EOS."
"Mercatox exchange emphasizes on their website that the security of the customer has a high priority. However, unlike others, they do not specify which safety measures they use but advice their customers on how to keep their accounts safe."
According to SlowMist, there was a breach of the Mercatox platform in March 2019, and thousands of EOS were stolen.
No other sources can back up this hack. There were some minor hacks in 2018 as well, that did not report the loss of any funds.
HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN PREVENTED?
The EOS funds should have been properly secured with offline storage and a multi-signature wallet for the majority of funds.
SlowMist Hacked - SlowMist Zone (Jun 26)
MERCATOX Digital And Crypto-Currencies Exchange | Payment Service | Peer-To-Peer Currency Exchange (Aug 8)
MERCATOX - YOUR RELIABLE PARTNER IN THE WORLD OF DIGITAL FINANCES (Aug 8)
Mercatox - BitcoinWiki (Aug 8)
Mercatox Exchange Review 2022 - Is It Safe? | Cryptogeek (Aug 8)
Mercatox Crypto Exchange - Volume, Market Prices & Listings, Trading Pairs | Nomics (Aug 8)
Crypto world gets a unique universal Multi-language cryptocurrency exchange with Mercatox (Aug 8)
Exchange Rollover Records: A Article Seeing 64 Rollover Accidents Since 2018 Blockchain Network (Aug 8)
Mercatox Review and Analysis: Is it safe or a scam? We've checked and verified! (Aug 8)
@Mercatox_Info Twitter (Jun 8)
The Exchange Directory (Jun 8)
https://www.facebook.com/cryptbuzz/posts/mercatox-exchange-confirms-hack-says-users-protected-against-loss/1195625940584673/ (Jun 8)
