​South Korean Cryptocurrency Exchange Hack Sees $40m In Altcoin Stolen

A South Korean cryptocurrency exchange has suffered a hack and lost some 30 percent of its coin inventory.

Coinrail said on its homepage it was attacked on Sunday and lost Pundi X, Aston, and Nper. The coins were worth some US$40 million, according to local reports.

It said 70 percent of its inventory was safe and was moved to cold wallets.

Two thirds of the leaked coins have been frozen and the company was being recovered. Pundi X was confirmed to be stored at another exchange, IDEX, and frozen.

Share prices of the hacked coins fell 10 percent early Monday following the news.

Hacking of cryptocurrency exchanges is nothing new. In December, Bitcoin mining platform and exchange NiceHast suffered a hack and $68 million worth of coins were stolen.

An estimated $400 million has been stolen or lost by hacks in ICO events between 2015 and 2017, according to Ernst & Young.

In April, a CEO of a Korean exchange was arrested for alleged fraud.

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