Bitonic hacked, bitcoin stolen from three customers
The Dutch crypto service says it logged customers out as a precaution and is investigating whether personal data was accessed.
Listen to this article
There is no audio version yet. Request one and an AI voice will read the article aloud.
Read by an AI voice.
Dutch crypto service Bitonic was hacked on Sunday evening. Bitcoin was withdrawn without permission from three customers; Bitonic says it has fully compensated those affected.
According to Bitonic, unauthorised parties gained access to part of its systems. The company says the attackers were able to alter data, including the login details of several accounts. Bitonic says it has since fixed the vulnerability, but the company has not yet said which technical flaw was exploited.
According to Bitonic, the attack was limited to the system in which login details are managed. The so-called cold wallets, in which funds are generally stored offline, were not affected, Bitonic says. However, the company cannot currently rule out that the attackers accessed the personal data of other customers.
Bitonic says it logged all customers out of their active sessions as a precaution. According to the company, customers must log in again on the website or in the app, and withdrawals are subject to additional checks, meaning they may take longer than usual.
According to Bitonic, the three customers from whose accounts bitcoin was withdrawn have been compensated. Bitonic says the login details of two accounts were changed. The company is also warning customers about phishing: Bitonic says it never asks for passwords, login codes or bitcoin to be transferred to another address.
The scale of the incident has not yet been established. Among other things, Bitonic is investigating which data was accessible and how long the unauthorised parties had access. It has also not been disclosed exactly how much bitcoin was stolen.
Bitonic operates in the Netherlands as a crypto service provider. De Nederlandsche Bank lists Bitonic in its public register as a crypto service provider; supervision of licensing has partly shifted to the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten) under European crypto regulations.
For customers, the hack mainly means they should be alert to suspicious messages purporting to come from Bitonic. Whether additional measures or reports to regulators are needed depends on the outcome of the ongoing investigation.
Also show where in Europe and in the world
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Bitonic reports unauthorised access to part of its systems.
- Three customers temporarily lost bitcoin through unauthorised withdrawals.
- The investigation into the cause and possible access to personal data is still ongoing.
Left
Arguments The hack shows that crypto services are not merely a private matter. Customers need protection against risks they can scarcely assess themselves, and regulators must strictly check whether companies have security and compensation arrangements in order.
Values Consumer protection, digital security and reducing power imbalances between companies and individual customers.
Consequences Without clear liability, customers could bear the losses in a larger incident. Stricter requirements could make the sector more expensive, but could also increase trust.
Centre
Arguments A crypto service must be able to demonstrate that it has secure systems, but incidents can never be ruled out entirely. The right response is transparency, an independent investigation and proportionate regulatory requirements.
Values A balance between innovation, responsibility and workable rules.
Consequences Rules that are too lenient increase risks; rules that are too stringent could drive smaller European providers out of the market.
Right
Arguments Anyone who trades in bitcoin consciously chooses a technology with its own risks. Companies should be liable for negligence, but the government should not protect every customer against every financial setback.
Values Personal responsibility, freedom of contract and room for enterprise.
Consequences A substantial public guarantee scheme could reward reckless behaviour and shift the costs to taxpayers or other market participants.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article's central claims are confirmed by Tweakers, which bases its report on statements from Bitonic. Bitonic's registration as a crypto service provider can be checked through De Nederlandsche Bank; technical details about the attack are rightly described as provisional.
- confirmed Bitonic was hacked on Sunday evening, 25 October. — Tweakers reports that Bitonic detected the unauthorised access on Sunday evening. source
- confirmed Bitcoin was withdrawn without permission from three customers. — This is stated in Bitonic's statement as reproduced by Tweakers. source
- confirmed Bitonic compensated the three affected customers. — According to Tweakers, Bitonic says this in its communications with customers. source
- confirmed Bitonic is registered as a crypto service provider. — This is shown in De Nederlandsche Bank's public register. source
Editor's note
The hack, the three affected customers, the compensation and the possible access to personal data are based on information from Bitonic as reported by Tweakers. The precise vulnerability, the scale of the theft and any data breaches have not yet been established.Sources
- Bitonic is gehackt: criminelen stalen bitcoin van klanten — Tweakers
- Registerdetailpagina Bitonic B.V. — De Nederlandsche Bank
More on this in Dutch media
- Het Parool — „bitonic hack”
- NRC — „bitonic hack”
- Tweakers — „bitonic hack”