Bitcoin Hits $76,000; Cryptocurrency Thefts Due to Issuance Authority

Bitcoin Surpasses $76,000
PlayDapp delisted
Virtual asset issuance authority stolen

Bitcoin has been rallying daily, trading at $76,000 on Upbit, South Korea’s largest asset exchange. The rise of Bitcoin has influenced other leading coins like Ethereum and even “meme coins” to achieve their all-time highs. Yet, there were also coins that, regrettably, were delisted.

The Digital Asset Exchange Association (DAXA) has decided to delist PlayDapp (PLA) on this day.

PlayDapp had its virtual asset issuance authority stolen by a hacker on the 9th of last month. Subsequently, 1.59 billion tokens worth $265 million were issued additionally.

Upbit announced the end of trading support for PlayDapp, stating, “The trustworthiness of the project has declined due to the theft of the private key that oversees the overall business, and the blame is significant.”

The end date is 2 p.m. on the 25th of this month.

Orbit Chain (ORC), Galaxia (GXA), and Somesing (SSX) were also delisted due to theft of the issuance authority.

Orbit Chain, a coin developed by blockchain technology company Ogis, was robbed of about $83 million last January. Galaxia, issued by a subsidiary of Hyosung Group’s KOSDAQ-listed company Galaxia Moneytree, lost $2.4 million, and Somesing, known as “Karaoke Coin,” was stolen of 730 million coins.

As delistings due to hacking continue, experts are arguing that “lock-ups should be in place.” A lock-up prohibits a certain percentage of the total issued amount of the coin the foundation holds from trading. They pointed out that few projects in Korea implemented lock-up measures.

As concerns about hacking grow among general investors, South Korean exchanges have introduced “account lock” features.

Meanwhile, some coins have managed to recover despite being decided to be delisted.

In December 2022, DAXA decided to delist Wemix, issued by Wemade, because it falsely announced its circulation.

However, it was relisted on major exchanges one year after the delisting in December last year.

Jang Hyun Guk, Wemade’s representative, has been buying Wemix with his salary and dividend income since April of that year, eight months before the relisting.

Wemix, which has returned to all South Korean virtual asset exchanges except Upbit, is trading at $3.73 as of 2:30 p.m. on the 12th. The price of Bitcoin is $76,581.