Cryptopia hack
The New Zealand exchange Cryptopia was hacked in January 2019, losing about NZ$30M (~$20M) in crypto, and was placed into liquidation in May 2019. A landmark NZ court ruling held that the assets were held on trust for account holders.
Also known as: Cryptopia
Summary
Cryptopia was a Christchurch, New Zealand-based cryptocurrency exchange. In January 2019 its servers were hacked and an estimated NZ$30 million (roughly $20 million at the time, representing 9–14% of its holdings) in cryptocurrency was transferred out using the exchange's private keys; the transfers were irreversible. The exchange suspended operations, briefly reopened, and was placed into liquidation in May 2019. [1][2]
Aftermath
In a case with little legal precedent, a New Zealand court ruled in April 2020 that the crypto was held on trust for the roughly 800,000–900,000 account holders rather than for general creditors. Liquidators at Grant Thornton spent years reconciling balances and tracing funds across jurisdictions; distributions to account holders followed. [1][2][3]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
People & entities involved
Sources (3)
- Cryptopia liquidators release third statutory report — Grant Thornton NZ
- Ruscoe & Moore v Cryptopia Limited (in liquidation) — judgment — High Court of New Zealand
- Users of hacked crypto firm get millions back — RNZ
See also
- Loci (LOCIcoin)TokensA 2017–2018 ICO for 'LOCIcoin' tied to the InnVenn IP-search platform. The SEC charged Loci and CEO John Wise with fraud for raising $7.6M on false claims about revenue, headcount, and user base; Wise also misused investor funds. Settled with a $7.6M penalty and an officer/director bar.
- Blockchain Terminal (BCT)TokensA 2017–2018 ICO (BCT tokens, ~$30M) for a 'Blockchain Terminal' — a Bloomberg-style crypto trading terminal. The SEC and DOJ said convicted ex-hedge-funder Boaz Manor secretly ran it under a fake identity ('Shaun MacDonald'), using associate Edith Pardo as a front, and lied about the product's adoption.
- Crowd Machine (CMCT)Tokens
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