Breaking news, Bitfinex one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges is hacked. Bitfinex released a statement a short time ago which states it is taking the exchange offline and investigating the breach. The site is now in maintenance mode with no other details as to the size or scope of the thief.

Bitfinex is a top 5 Bitcoin exchange by volume basis and is based out of Hong Kong. The exchange's hot wallet was hacked last May and the exchange has been experiencing various technical issues since then. This hack comes on the heels of the big DAO hack which forced Ethereum to hard fork and subsequently led to the creation of Ethereum Classic. For more details: http://www.coindesk.com/bitfinex-shuts-down-customer-bitcoin-stolen





Market Reaction

The market price of Bitcoin has reacted negatively to the news with price shedding USD 30 in a matter of minutes the current price from USD 568 via http://preev.com/ Bitcoin was already under selling pressure since Sunday when the price suddenly crashed from USD 650 to USD 630 for no explained reason. The rationale provided was a secret meeting of Bitcoin core devs and Chinese miners. Since the news of this meeting became known the sentiment has turned bearish. Now coupled with the Bitfinex hack it looks like Bitcoin is in for a rough ride over the next few days. The price appreciation which was anticipated by most pundits after the halving has not come to pass. With many traders taking long positions now having to close those positions because of the sudden crash and negative news. Bitfinex has not

Since the news of this meeting became known the sentiment has turned bearish. Now coupled with the Bitfinex hack it looks like Bitcoin is in for a rough ride over the next few days. The price appreciation which was anticipated by most pundits after the halving has not come to pass. With many traders taking long positions now having to close those positions because of the sudden crash and negative news. Bitfinex has not revealed much information as to the extent of the hack. But it is known that customers accounts were accessed and funds were removed. If the hack is very large then there is no telling the impact it will have on Bitfinex and the Bitcoin ecosystem going forward. If the stolen funds are minor then it will likely play out as last years hot wallet hack.