Mainstream media convinced community that downtrend in prices is caused by hack of a small exchange
Cryptocurrency users are expirience frustration on June 11 after mainstream media outlets reported the crypto market had fallen namely due to the hacking of a small South Korean exchange Coinrail.
As both Bitcoin and altcoins fell June 10, sources including Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal(WSJ), Reuters, the Guardian and others claimed that Coinrail’s hack – which local media reported as causing $37 mln in losses – had crashed markets. The exchange confirmed the “cyber intrusion” in a tweet Sunday, and in a post 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 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 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.
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