World Bitcoin Exchange
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It would seem from the initial look that this was another case of hacking a hot wallet.
This exchange or platform is based in Australia, or the incident targeted people primarily in Australia.[1]
About World Bitcoin Exchange
“World Bitcoin Exchange, due to fraudulent activity, stole over 5000 BTC worth at the time in AUD. The total amount stolen was 25779.49 AUD.”
Business Registration Information
World Bitcoin Exchange was registered to operate in Victoria[3], and the listed address was in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia[3].
This exchange or platform is based in Australia, or the incident targeted people primarily in Australia.
The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.
Include:
- Known history of when and how the service was started.
- What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
- What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
- Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
- Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
- How were people recruited to participate?
- Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.
Don't Include:
- Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
- Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.
There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.
The Reality
This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:
- When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
- Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
- How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
- Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.
What Happened
The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.
| Date | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| December 4th, 2011 | Company Deregistered | "As a note, the supposed company was de-registered in December (4th). That is actually useful as it means rather than hiding behind a limited liability company structure, the actions have taken place by Andre as an individual and he is personally liable."[4] Many users raise the suspicion that this was due to not filing annual returns. |
| February 23rd, 2012 3:25:35 AM MST | World Bitcoin Exchange Frozen | An announcement is posted on BitcoinTalk that the World Bitcoin Exchange has been shut down due to an issue with their "Commonwealth processing account"[5]. |
| March 6th, 2012 | Announcement Announced | A user reports hearing from Andre that he would "be announcing a statement with in the next 7days on the site and forums"[6]. |
| March 8th, 2012 5:26:06 PM MST | Site Developer Email Response | One user reports having got a response from the site developer. They are hopeful the platform will return, but suggest that a public update would be very helpful[7]. |
| March 11th, 2012 12:18:44 PM MDT | Discussion Of Legal Action | User "sonba" reports that they are considering legal action since they haven't got any response from Andre whatsoever[8]. |
| March 11th, 2012 4:54:35 PM MDT | Platform Shutdown Announced | Clients of the exchange start to receive email messages about the shutdown of the platform[9]. While the announcement states that they will be "returning all client funds", there is no timeline provided[9]. |
| March 11th, 2012 6:42:03 PM MDT | Bitcoin Stored Offsite | BitcoinTalk user dooglus announces that the bitcoin have been stored offsite and are all accounted for in the wallet[10]. |
| March 15th, 2012 | Website Access Removed | dooglus reports that they were unable to log into the World Bitcoin Exchange web host as of this date[11]. |
| March 19th, 2012 7:27:46 PM MDT | Update Posted On Website | A user reports an update is available on the World Bitcoin Exchange website[11]. |
| May 1st, 2012 12:00:09 AM MDT | Main Event | Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here. |
| May 26th, 2012 1:23:27 PM MDT | Information On Amount Available | Information is published to report that roughly 26% of the bitcoin expected to be in the wallets is available to be repaid[2]. |
Technical Details
Offsite Storage Of Bitcoin
dooglus was reportedly storing the bitcoins off-site[10].
Total Amount Lost
The total amount lost has been estimated at $25,000 USD.
How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?
Immediate Reactions
How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?
Ultimate Outcome
What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?
Eventual Announcement
The World Bitcoin Exchange operator Andre eventually emailed out an announcement that the platform would be shutting down[9].
Dear Clients,
Effective immediately World Bitcoin Exchange (WBX) will be shutting down trading / deposits and returning all client funds.
Due to increasing fraudulent transactions on our accounts, WBX can not operate in it's current capacity. Combined with multiple bank account closures, we have deemed the best course of action is to halt trading.
Sincerely,
Andre Jensen
An announcement was also posted to the World Bitcoin Exchange website[11].
Dear Clients, Again we would like to apologize to all our clients for the delayed customer support provided over the past weeks, Effective immediately 15th March World Bitcoin Exchange (WBX) will be shutting down trading / deposits and returning all client funds. Due to increasing fraudulent transactions on our accounts, WBX cannot operate in its current capacity. Combined with multiple bank account closures, we have deemed the best course of action is to halt trading and return funds
As of the 20th of March we will start returning all clients BTC, we currently hold the majority of our BTC off line, which is managed by Chris Moore our Technical lead, you will be required to logon to your account and request a BTC Withdraw to your personal wallets.
The withdraw of AUD is on hold until we have a clear indication when FUNDS are returned by our bank.
We appreciate your patience. WBX Team
Total Amount Recovered
There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.
What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?
Ongoing Developments
What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?
General Prevention Policies
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.
Individual Prevention Policies
No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.
For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.
Platform Prevention Policies
Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.
For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.
Regulatory Prevention Policies
No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.
For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.
References
- ↑ List of Major Bitcoin Heists, Thefts, Hacks, Scams, and Losses [Old] (Jan 28, 2020)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Re: {ANNOUNCEMENT} WBX Exchange Frozen - BitcoinTalk (Accessed Apr 1, 2024)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Re: {ANNOUNCEMENT} WBX Exchange Frozen - BitcoinTalk (Accessed Apr 1, 2024)
- ↑ "As a note, the supposed company was de-registered in December (4th). That is actually useful as it means rather than hiding behind a limited liability company structure, the actions have taken place by Andre as an individual and he is personally liable." - BitcoinTalk (Accessed Apr 1, 2024)
- ↑ {ANNOUNCEMENT} WBX Exchange Frozen - BitcoinTalk (Accessed Apr 1, 2024)
- ↑ "The last I heard from Andre was on March 6th, when he wrote: i will be announcing a statement with in the next 7days on the site and forums" - BitcoinTalk (Accessed Apr 1, 2024)
- ↑ "I sent an email to the site developer and actually got a response. I'm not sure what is going on, but they don't appear to be gone yet. I'm still hopeful they'll be back, but it would help if they posted a public update." - BitcoinTalk (Accessed Apr 1, 2024)
- ↑ "Taking into account hat Andre is not answering a single e-mail I'm considering taking some legal action here. Unfortunately, I'm not from Australia but I know some people down under so I guess I'll either file it with the police there or with a regional lawyer." - BitcoinTalk (Accessed Apr 1, 2024)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Effective immediately World Bitcoin Exchange (WBX) will be shutting down trading / deposits and returning all client funds." - BitcoinTalk (Accessed Apr 1, 2024)
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "I have been holding the WBX Bitcoins in an offsite account, for safekeeping. They're all accounted for, and are available to withdraw right now for users with BTC balances. I transfer them back to the WBX wallet as and when they're needed." - BitcoinTalk (Accessed Apr 1, 2024)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "There's a new posting on the news page at WBX, presumably from Andre" - Bitcoin Talk (Accessed Apr 1, 2024)