Nearly $31 million worth of bitcoin currency was wiped off from cryptocurrency startup Tethers' Treasury account. The startup is in business with bitcoin exchanges and the hacker was able to move the bitcoin to an unauthorized account.
Tether has released the details of the attack and precautionary measures on its website for its users.
Details Of The Attack That Stole $31 Million
On Nov. 19, 2017, the Treasury account of Tether was compromised by a hacker. The bitcoins were maliciously transferred from Tether to the following address: 16tg2RJuEPtZooy18Wxn2me2RhUdC94N7r by the hacker. Although the fund address has now been flagged, the curtailment of further damage will depend on how the startup is able to control the spread of this fund in the broader ecosystem. Tether has requested people who trade in bitcoins to not to purchase USDT tokens from the above address.
Tether has temporarily suspended its backend wallet system. The startup is thoroughly investigating the breach and is making sure that such an incident never takes place again on its platform.
Tether has improved its Omni Core builds that will help to strengthen its software and it is providing it to its community members. It's an extra layer of protection for transactions and the hacker cannot move funds from its address to any other account which has Omni Core running on the backend. At present, Tether is making sure that all of its members have Omni Core in their systems.
The Bitcoins Are Falling After the Hacker Attack
According to the bitcoin up, the attackers has shaken the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin, Ethereum and also Bitcoin cash has fallen considerably against the U.S. dollar.
As soon as the news broke out, Tether has fallen 0.3 percent in value according to coinmarketcap.com. Tethers' USDT is the cryptocurrency, which is pegged against the U.S. dollar.
All in all the whole bitcoin market has taken a hit. There is a fall of 1 percent value against the dollar in the market. Ethereum, which is the second biggest in cryptocurrencies has witnessed a fall of 1.5 percent value against the dollar. Bitcoin cash, on the other hand, has seen the biggest negative hit of 5 percent in its value.
Tether on its website has mentioned that its issuance of cryptocurrency is intact even after this attack. All tokens issued stand firm on the back of assets in Tethers reserves. Tether has assured for a solution which will benefit all those who are affected by this attack.
