This week, two major bitcoin exchanges released information that were subjected to cyber attacks, which was no surprise against the background of the downturn in the cryptocurrency market.
On Monday, BTC-e reported that its system was attacked, causing the web site temporarily out of order. The news was announced on Twitter and later deleted.
Also under threat were the Bitfinex team, which yesterday reported a recurring DDOS attacks that tried to paralyze the system.
On Tuesday, the situation repeated itself, but to solve Bitfinex took one hour, after which the stock exchange is back to normal operation.
Chris Burniske (Chris Burniske), head of blockchain developments of ARK Investments, explained that the attack is "not surprising", given the situation on the cryptocurrency market.
"There is a big difference between denial of service and hacking, which leaves clients without funds," he said. "At the moment we, fortunately, are dealing with the first phenomenon."
Analysts in the field of digital currency warned that cyber-attacks can give attackers the ability to manipulate the bitcoin market. As some major stock exchanges located around the world, actually set the price of bitcoin, a temporary violation of the unity of the course may allow a malicious trader to take advantage of price differentials.
Course on the stock exchanges immediately responded to the attack, and the bitcoin price decreased by 12% to 2,424 $, while the second most popular cryptocurrency, ether, during this time increased by several thousand percent.
source bitnovosti.com