How a glitch can cost $20 billion worth of Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s rocky start of 2018 was not easy for investors, especially those who held their bullish expectations from December, 2017, when the “people’s currency” circulated around international exchanges for as much as $20,000 per coin.

Now, as the crypto “bloodbath” seems to be tamed to some extent, although $550 billion were wiped out with the recent crash, there is another problem on the horizon. Companies and exchanges are becoming more and more vulnerable to “glitches” and cryptocurrency mining attacks. Just recently, Tesla became a victim of cryptojacking, while a Starbucks coffee shop “suffered” in the summer of 2017.

While cryptojacking and volatility in prices are major concerns for most people, it is even scarier when a whole exchange comes under fire for negligence and “glitches” of their platforms.

The Asahi Shimbun magazine just reported that a system bug on a cryptocurrency exchange in Osaka may have allowed users to get Bitcoin “for free”, meaning that the digital currency was free to be obtained at $0. Reportedly, one user tried obtaining Bitcoin valued at $20 billion and then, once he had on its account, sell it immediately.

The Financial Services Agency has launched an investigation into Tech Bureau Corporation for negligence and investigation of the exchange’s security system.

The company came with a statement that the glitch happened on its Zaif exchange and the whole fiasco started four days earlier than previously thought. The problem was taken care of quickly.

The system bug lasted for 18 minutes, allowing users of Zaif exchange to “purchase” cryptos for $0. As of today, the issue has been fixed by Tech Bureau and they have restored the right balances of their customers. The user who tried selling Bitcoin worth of $20 billion did not succeed in doing so. However, the company is under great scrutiny right now.

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