The Russian crypto exchange has lost control over its servers, which prompted a move of its media channels to a different domain, Livecoin.news.
Livecoin has publicly announced that it will shut down its services while further asking its clientele to withdraw their funds.
The company’s servers were attacked originally close to Christmas Eve in 2020. As a result, Livecoin couldn’t access its own infrastructure, even as the hacker made changes to the exchange rates, inflating numbers to unbelievable levels.
When the hacking took place, Bitcoin was traded at $23,000 and Ether at $600. The numbers shown by the hacker were much bigger, with the price for Bitcoin being $450,000 and $600 for Ether.
Livecoin addressed the issue on Christmas Eve after several industry trackers had already reported the hack.
The exchange figured a way to get control of some of its servers, but the hacker didn’t stop there, as he/she started to cash out some user accounts that had big profits. As of today, the total amount stolen was not publicly revealed.
Scheming Scammers
The users of this exchange have two months to claim back their funds. Being aware of the people who would take advantage of such a situation, the company issued a statement and warned against the possibility of fraud taking place. The statement specifically revealed that users “don’t have to pay to get back your funds.”
The attack was planned around the time when Bitcoin started its bullish run around the $20,000 level. The company said that it was a “carefully planned attack, which has been prepared, as we assume, over the last few months.”
Despite the losses that were registered, some have compared the attack to the idea of an exit strategy in the bull market. Still, despite the allegations, there hasn’t been any proof to back those claims.
What is also not known is how much of the deposits will be refunded. While a 100 percent refund seems normal, it is also very likely that the refund will be only partial.
“Our service and team bear hard losses as well as our clients. In case of abuse and threats in conversation, the claim can be declined,” the exchange noted.