South Korea crypto exchange files for bankruptcy after employee embezzlement, $26M in losses

Another day. More exchange drama.

Coinbin, the South Korea-based digital asset exchange, has filed for bankruptcy. The business, which bought the notably hacked Youbit exchange, reported losses of more than $26 million, as reported by CryptoCoinNews. The crypto world is infamous for its exchange headaches, which include shutdowns, outages, and hacks — including the $500M-plus hack of Coincheck last year. In total, close to a $1 billion of crypto was hacked from crypto exchanges in 2018, as reported by Forbes.  

As for Coinbin, the firm's most recent woes are tied to embezzled funds — not hacked funds. "We are preparing to file for bankruptcy due to a rise in debt following an employee’s embezzlement," CEO Park Chan-kyu said. The employee allegedly commandeered a wallet holding 100 Ethereum. 

The news is on the heels of the death of the CEO of QuadrigaCX’s. His passing left customers without access to over $150M as he was allegedly the only person with access to the crypto keys to unlock funds.