Bitfinix to spread $65m loss across all customers
After suffering the loss of around $65 million last week, cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinix has told customers they will be sharing the loss, with each copping a generalised loss percentage of 36.067 percent.
"After much thought, analysis, and consultation, we have arrived at the conclusion that losses must be generalised across all accounts and assets," the company said in a blog post. "This is the closest approximation to what would happen in a liquidation context."
Bitfinix experienced a security breach last week which resulted in them halting all trading, deposit, and withdrawal activities on Tuesday night while they looked into the incident.
It emerged at the time that the loss from the hack was an estimated 119,756 bitcoins -- which was the approximate equivalent of $65 million.
Bitfinex has not confirmed the amount taken, however the Reddit user that posted the figure stolen was confirmed by the exchange late last week as an employee.
The Bitfinex site is back online in read-only form, which means users can log into their accounts but trading, depositing, and withdrawing will remain disabled.
"We are actively discussing various strategic options with numerous potential investors as part of our strategy to fully compensate our customers. Such discussions, however, are in early stages and will likely take time to play out," Bitfinix said.
"Upon logging into the platform, customers will see that they have experienced a generalised loss percentage of 36.067 percent. In a later announcement we will explain in full detail the methodology used to compute these losses."
Although bitcoin was the only currency stolen, the exchange is opting to treat all customers equally and the 36 percent generalised loss will apply across the board, even to those not dealing in bitcoin.