Decentralized cryptocurrency platform Bancor announced on Monday that it has experienced a security breach and is currently under maintenance while investigating the matter.
The network’s native token BNT plunged on the announcement, losing as much as 20% of its value. Touching near monthly highs of $3.24 on Sunday, the coin dropped to $2.51 after the news of the security issue broke. The token has managed to recoup some of the losses and is currently trading at $2.75, 13.68% down in the past 24 hours, Coins.Online data shows.
User funds are safe, Bancor states
Bancor’s website currently has an ‘under maintenance’ sign, with the provision for a return to normal service within “minutes”. The message reminds users that their funds are safe as the platform does not hold investors’ assets.
Bancor reaffirmed in a Twitter post that no user wallets have been compromised in the hack. It further stated that a more detailed report would be released shortly, following the completion of its investigation. “We look forward to being back online as soon as possible,” the company added.
In June 2017, Bancor raised a then-unprecedented $153 million in under three hours during its Initial Coin Offering (ICO). Since its inception, the platform has surpassed several rival decentralized exchanges such as DEX, Waves Dex and Openledger Dex, in terms of trading volume.
While centralized crypto exchanges such as Coincheck have suffered series of hacks, Bancor had largely remained free of attacks due to its decentralized security structure.
Decentralized exchanges exclude a middleman and the necessity to rely on a third-party service to hold investors’ funds. The trading mechanism of such platforms is based on smart contracts and atomic swaps, so users are always in control of their funds.
This article appeared first on Cryptovest
