Liquidators of hacked New Zealand cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia have recovered almost $11 million in the past six months, but say the process remains difficult.
In its second report into its operations at Cryptopia, Grant Thornton confirmed that receipts from May to November totaled around 10.9 million New Zealand dollars ($7.18 million).
Expenses, including payments to certain preferential creditors, came to NZ$3.74 million ($2.46 million), resulting in a net recovery of NZ$7.2 million ($4.74 million).
Funds trickle back from oblivion
“We continue to investigate the affairs of the Company and its directors in the period prior to our appointment to determine if there are any further avenues of recovery available to the Company”, the report summarizes.
Grant Thornoton did not comment on how much longer outstanding creditors would need to wait for reimbursement, stating, “At this stage it is not practicable to estimate a completion date for the Liquidation.”
A textbook example of crypto’s complexity
Cryptopia shut down in January this year after hackers stole funds worth around $16 million. A lengthy process has seen liquidators tease out the details of user transactions, with the reconciliation of funds ongoing.
“No detailed reconciliation process between the customer databases and the crypto-assets held in the wallets has ever been completed”, the report adds.
Grant Thornton is currently focusing on the accounts of over 900,000 active users, potentially involving more than 900 different cryptocurrencies. As Cointelegraph reported, exchanges worldwide continue to grapple with hacks, with attention continuing to focus on a much larger loss involving ex-Canadian exchange QuadrigaCX.
Earlier this month, cryptocurrency worth around $340,000 mysteriously left the books of South Korean platform Upbit, in what some analysts have claimed was an inside job. Users will be compensated using company funds.
Bitcoin News Summary – July 15, 2019
The Fold mobile app, which allowed discounted Starbucks purchases for Bitcoin is now back with Lightning Network support. Fold now allows for almost-feeless purchases at Amazon, Starbucks, Uber, Home Depot, Target, and more.
Bitcoin got its first mention by a sitting US president. Trump tweeted that he is “not a fan” of Bitcoin, claiming that it’s volatile, un-backed, and can enable crime. He then bashed Facebook’s forthcoming “Libra” coin, saying the company will have to seek a banking charter and comply with banking regulations to operate. Trump ended his Tweet-storm by praising the US Dollar.
American football team the Miami Dolphins will accept cryptocurrency payments. The partnership with the Litecoin Foundation will kick off at the start of the 2019 NFL season and fans will be able to pay with litecoin and bitcoin when buying tickets for the team’s home games.
During his testimony before the U.S. Senate, FED Chairman Jerome Powell said that “almost no one is using Bitcoin for payments” but it’s used as an “alternative to gold” and that “it’s a store of value.” US lawmakers expressed concern during the session that BTC might replace the US Dollar as the world reserve currency.
And finally, Japan’s Bitpoint crypto exchange halted operations after reporting a hack. $32 million was stolen of which about 2/3 belonged to clients. The exchange’s parent company lost nearly 20% from its share price following the news.
