Cryptocurrency[1] users are venting frustration June 11 after mainstream media outlets reported the crypto market had fallen namely due to the hacking of a small South Korean[2] exchange Coinrail.
As both Bitcoin and altcoins[3] fell June 10[4], sources including Bloomberg[5], the Wall Street Journal[6] (WSJ), Reuters[7], the Guardian[8] and others claimed that Coinrail’s hack – which local media reported as causing $37 mln in losses[9] – had crashed markets. The exchange confirmed[10] the “cyber intrusion” in a tweet Sunday, and in a post[11] on its site, but has yet to specify the value of losses.
“Enthusiasm for virtual currencies has waned partly due to a string of cyber heists,” Bloomberg wrote[12] June 10, citing an Singapore forex trader who told the publication that Coinrail had prompted widespread “knee-jerk” selling, triggering the price drop.
The WSJ added[13] to the sense of confusion emerging out of the latest events while appearing confused about cryptocurrency more broadly, claiming altcoins stolen from Coinrail were “alternative versions of Bitcoin.”
Conversely, both reports acknowledged the insignificant scale of Coinrail’s operation, the exchange being only the 99th largest in terms of trade volumes, trading $2.65 mln on the day leading up the hack.
“WSJ thinks bitcoin price fell 11% because a small cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea which a very small portion of local users utilize was hacked,” industry journalist and commentator Joseph Young summarized[14] on social media:
“Bitcoin fell because people sold and not enough people were willing to buy, not because of a small hack.”
As Cointelegraph previously reported[15],
