Marko Kobal, NiceHash CEO, has taken time to speak with WikiTribune regarding the recent hack that stole over 4000 Bitcoins from a single wallet – it contained the entire sum of the sites mining efforts not yet withdrawn to date. NiceHash are looking to not only continue their mining pool platform, but also reimburse their users for the entire $60 million of precious cryptocurrency that was lost.
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The NiceHash CEO confirmed that a single wallet was used to store every Bitcoin levied on the site – a decision which many users have been critical of since the hack. Kobal couldn’t expand on the details – due to police investigation – however, he did specify that a team of researchers and experts are doing their best to track the stolen funds.
Kobal notes that the hackers will need to be wary of using public exchanges to filter their new found funds into separate useable accounts. Considering the apparent sophisticated nature of the attack, it seems doubtful that the thieves would fall prey to an easy mistake while their wallet is under so much scrutiny – well, at least they won’t now they’ve been reminded not to.
Most NiceHash users will be looking to Kobal to clarify how, and when, they will be compensated for their losses, especially at a time when Bitcoin is booming.
“We fully intend to make this right. It’s a matter of deep concern to us and we’re working hard to rectify the matter in the coming days. We’re working on a solution to ensure that all users are reimbursed… As soon as we have a full plan in place we will communicate it to our users and all those affected.”
There may be light at the end of the tunnel it seems for weary-eyed miners, after all. However, a solution will likely have to be built on the back of continued use, and success, of the NiceHash platform – which will require the trust of its many previous users to go back to the site.
Across its communities this response has been met with considerable, and understandable, skepticism around returning to the service, at least not without open and frank discussion regarding security. Many users will likely look elsewhere, or take on solo ventures for less gain, which could jeopardise any and all efforts by NiceHash to reimburse their miners. If the mining platform does go bust then no-one is getting their digi-dollar back.