New Zealand exchange reports 'significant losses' following estimated $3M hack

Cryptopia Exchange suspended trading Monday following a serious hack. The New Zealand-based company, which primarily trades alt-coins, released a statement saying it had gone into maintenance mode until further notice while the "security breach" is investigated. No official figure has been released on the amount of funds missing but an analysis via etherscan of two suspected transfers indicates that it could be in the range of $3.5 million - including 19,391 ether (ETH) tokens worth around $2.44 million. The other token targeted was CENNZ. The transfers were made on Jan 13 from Crytopia to an unknown wallet, though it is unconfirmed whether they were made by a hacker or a legitimate user.

Local police are investigating the "major crime," the statement added.

Currently, hacks on crypto exchanges total more than $1.1 billion, according to an analysis by Larry Cermak. This includes the infamous attacks on Mt. Gox and Bitfinex. If confirmed, the hack of Crytopia would be the first reported one of its kind this year.

Meanwhile, Cryptopia's website remains under "unscheduled maintenance."