A sudden change of plan has been announced as to the “socialisation” of the Bitfinex hack damage. Previously it was declared that only bitcoin balances and active loans to BTC/USD positions would be affected.

“After much thought, analysis, and consultation, we have arrived at the conclusion that losses must be generalized across all accounts and assets. This is the closest approximation to what would happen in a liquidation context. Upon logging into the platform, customers will see that they have experienced a generalized loss percentage of 36.067%,” announced Bitfinex representative Zane Tackett.

He also added that the exchange’s team was working to bring the site back online within 24-28 hours. While the theft investigation is in place, withdrawal, deposits and currency exchange are suspended.

According to Zane Tackett, the exchange team are currently coordinating strategic plans for compensating customers, and details are yet to follow. It is planned that clients affected by the hack will get tokens labelled BFX to record each customer’s discrete losses.

“Tokens will be distributed without release or waiver. The BFX tokens will remain outstanding until redeemed in full by Bitfinex or possibly exchanged—upon the creditor’s request and Bitfinex’s acceptance—for shares of iFinex Inc,” Zane explained.

On 2 August, Bitfinex reported a massive attack which led to the loss of 119.756 BTC, resulting in a temporary plunge of the cryptocurrency price. The intruders are supposed to have got hold of the exchange’s security keys. Bitfinex then promised to settle accounts later at the exchange rate of $604.06 – the BTC price on the night of the attack.

Lyudmila Brus