Bitcoin Exchange Gets Hit with $460,000 Lawsuit

Monday, 13/08/2012 | 21:54 GMT by Adil Siddiqui
Bitcoin Exchange Gets Hit with $460,000 Lawsuit

Bitcoin Exchange's users are suing the peer-to-peer Payments network for $460,000 after security breaches show missing funds. The system which was created by teenager Zhuo Tong was recently sold to UK competitor Intersango.

Tong sold the exchange to UK-based rival Intersango in June but a second attack was suffered within days, with the thief making off with 18,547 Bitcoins worth $90,000. The site has been offline since.

Bitcoinica assured users that the money was stolen from it, not customers, and that all withdrawal requests would be honoured. It set up a claims system but then told users that only half of their money would be returned.

With speculation swirling on forums that Tang himself was behind the hacks, the four plaintiffs have now filed a complaint in San Francisco demanding the $460,457.70 they say they are still owed.

The former exchange users allege that the defendants - Bitcoinica, Intersango and some associated individuals - "knowingly and wilfully conspired and agreed upon themselves to hinder, delay and deprive Plaintiffs of their rights with respect to the monies at issue".

Bitcoin Exchange's users are suing the peer-to-peer Payments network for $460,000 after security breaches show missing funds. The system which was created by teenager Zhuo Tong was recently sold to UK competitor Intersango.

Tong sold the exchange to UK-based rival Intersango in June but a second attack was suffered within days, with the thief making off with 18,547 Bitcoins worth $90,000. The site has been offline since.

Bitcoinica assured users that the money was stolen from it, not customers, and that all withdrawal requests would be honoured. It set up a claims system but then told users that only half of their money would be returned.

With speculation swirling on forums that Tang himself was behind the hacks, the four plaintiffs have now filed a complaint in San Francisco demanding the $460,457.70 they say they are still owed.

The former exchange users allege that the defendants - Bitcoinica, Intersango and some associated individuals - "knowingly and wilfully conspired and agreed upon themselves to hinder, delay and deprive Plaintiffs of their rights with respect to the monies at issue".

About the Author: Adil Siddiqui
Adil Siddiqui
  • 1625 Articles
About the Author: Adil Siddiqui
  • 1625 Articles

More from the Author

Retail FX

!"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|} !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}