Cryptocurrency exchange places $250,000 bounty on hackers' heads
Binance pledges reward to anyone who delivers information about the would-be bandits that leads to their arrests
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Binance, the China-based cryptocurrency exchange that was targeted by a failed heist last week, has placed a $250,000 (£179,000) bounty on the heads of the cyber-criminals responsible.
The failed raid saw the would-be thieves - still unidentified - using a phishing scam to acquire coin traders' login details before generating API keys to access their accounts, buying large quantities of viacoin and then attempting to exchange that suddenly-inflated currency for bitcoin.
It was at this point that the site's moderators noticed the suspicious activity and stepped in to block the transactions, preventing any money from being stolen.
"To ensure a safe crypto community, we can’t simply play defence," Binance said in a statement.
"We need to actively prevent any instances of hacking before they occur, as well as follow through after-the-fact.
"The first person to supply substantial information and evidence that leads to the legal arrest of the hackers, in any jurisdiction, will receive the equivalent of $250,000 in binance coin.”
The company also said that it had put aside $10bn (£7.2bn) for future bounties and said it had invited fellow crypto-businesses to follow suit.
The fledgling cryptocurrency market - unregulated, decentralised and offering little consumer protection - has often been likened to the Wild West by its critics.
This is very much a 21st century "Wanted" poster.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments