New Zealand Digital Assets Exchange Cryptopia Still Offline Following A Security Breach But Police Say They Are Free To Resume Trading

Digital assets exchange Cryptopia that was reportedly hacked last month has been allowed to re-launch and reopen trading by the New Zealand police who indicated that they had concluded investigations. An estimated $16 million worth of crypto was stolen during the security breach.

The conclusion of the investigation into hacking

Detective Greg Murton indicated that most of the work that the High Tech Crime Group was required to do had been finalized and Cryptopia management could have access to their business platform. Murton emphasized that the investigation was not preventing the crypto from getting their business up and running. However, he did not indicate when and whether there are any preferable charges in the case.

Greg Murton could not comment on the exact amount crypto stolen in the heist. However, data company Elementus analysts estimate the amount to be around $16 million comprising of ERC20 tokens and Ethereum which is considerably more than the estimate given in January following news of the hacking.

Reports from last month suggest that the Christchurch-based exchange continued to suffer attack even after investigations had commenced. The police did not comment on the claims nor did they discuss suggestions that part of the lost amount had been identified and frozen.

Platform still offline

Although the New Zealand police indicated that the company can reopen and resume trading anytime they want the platform is still offline stating that they are still under maintenance as well as waiting for official communication from investigators.

Cryptopia founders have not indicated when and whether they are resuming operations soon. The exchange’s social sites have been inactive since 28 January 2019. Pete Dawson, Director of Cryptopia was quoted to state that information about the cryptocurrency transfers was misinterpreted but he did not give the figure of digital cash missing.

New Zealand police indicate that they are collaborating with international law enforcement5 to track the breach. They said that staff members are cooperating with government agencies and law enforcement to get to the bottom of the hacking that began on 15 January. The hack lasted from two weeks during which tens of thousands of funds were stolen from Ethereum wallets.

New Zealand police said that the investigation process could take some time but they were making significant progress.