韩国比特币交易所Youbit遭受黑客攻击申请破产

A cyber attack has forced one of South Korea’s cryptocurrency exchanges to stop trading and file for bankruptcy after losing a large chunk of its reserves.

韩国一家加密货币交易所因遭到网络攻击而丢失一大笔存在该所的加密货币，被迫停止交易并申请破产。

Yapian, which operates the Youbit exchange in South Korea, suspended trading on Tuesday after it was hacked, causing it to lose 17 per cent of its assets, according to a statement from the company.

运营韩国Youbit交易所的Yapian公司发布的声明称，该交易所在遭到黑客攻击、丢失17%的资产后停止交易。

The attack marks the second on Youbit in only eight months after the exchange experienced a breach in April, according to local media reports.

据当地媒体报道，这是Youbit在短短8个月以来第二次遭受黑客攻击。该交易所今年4月曾遭到一次黑客攻击。

The exchange, which launched in 2013, facilitates the trading of 10 digital currencies, including bitcoin, ethereum and ripple.

2013年上线的Youbit交易所可交易10种数字货币，包括比特币(bitcoin)、以太币(ether)和瑞波币(ripple)。

Youbit said in an announcement that investors could withdraw about 75 per cent of their digital coins. It said the remainder “will be paid” once the company completes the bankruptcy process after “the final settlement is completed”.

Youbit在声明中表示，投资者可取回他们约75%的数字硬币，并表示一旦“最终清算完成”、该公司走完破产程序，就“将被支付”剩余部分。

The exchange had no information on the perpetrator of the attack.

该交易所对于此次黑客攻击的元凶一无所知。

The hack comes as investors in South Korea, including students, flock to bitcoin. The price of the cryptocurrency has touched a number of fresh highs in the past month, peaking at $19,666 in mid-December, according to Reuters. The currency was trading at $16,989 early on Wednesday, up from around $1,000 at the start of the year.

在此次黑客攻击发生之际，韩国投资者正在疯抢比特币，就连学生都加入进来。根据路透社(Reuters)的数据，这种加密货币的价格在过去一个月连创新高，12月中旬达到了19666美元的峰值。周三早上比特币的交易价为16989美元，而年初的价格约为1000美元。

Demand for bitcoin is strong among South Korea’s technology-savvy populace. Buyers of bitcoin in South Korea have recently been paying premiums of more than 20 per cent for the cryptocurrency, compared with international rates.

韩国精通科技的民众对比特币的需求很强劲。近来韩国比特币买家购买比特币的价格相对于国际价格溢价逾20%。

However, the latest attack puts the spotlight on security concerns, as rising valuations render cryptocurrency exchanges enticing targets for hackers.

然而，最新的这次黑客攻击让安全问题成为人们关注的焦点，比特币不断上升的估值使得加密货币交易所成为黑客眼中具有吸引力的目标。

Hong Kong-based Bitfinex was hacked in August 2016, leaving investors nursing losses in the region of $70m.

2016年8月，香港的Bitfinex遭到黑客攻击，投资者蒙受了约7000万美元的损失。

Mt Gox, once the largest bitcoin exchange globally, based in Tokyo, filed for bankruptcy in 2014 when nearly 850,000 bitcoins — worth some $450m at the time — were lost.

总部位于东京、曾是全球最大比特币交易所的Mt Gox，在2014年丢失近85万个比特币(时值约4.5亿美元)后申请破产。