Coinsecure, an Indian cryptocurrency exchange, said nearly $3 million were stolen from its bitcoin wallet. It is expected the theft will further weaken trade in cryptocurrencies, which the government has likened to «Ponzi schemes».
Coinsecure, which has over 200 000 users trading on its platform daily, said that around 438 bitcoins, which were stored in a password-protected virtual wallet were siphoned off to an unknown destination.
Legal experts said there was a need to regulate the cryptocurrency market, instead of imposing restrictions on its trade.
«It is for reasons like these that there is a need to regulate crypto-exchanges», – said Anirudh Rastogi, the founder of TRA Law, a company that specializes in emerging-technology businesses.
Coinsecure promised to compensate customers for losses from its existing funds.
At the beginning of April The Reserve Bank of India barred banks from facilitating trade on cryptocurrencies and mandating them to unwind their existing relationship with exchanges within three months.
