Exchange Glitch Allows Traders To "Buy" $20 Trillion In Bitcoin For Free
Content adapted from this Zerohedge.com article : Source
Japan is the leading country for embracing bitcoin. It is reported that there were 250,000 shops accepting the cryptocurrency by the end of 2017.
Now, Japan might be the leader in cryptocurrency exchange screw-ups.
Last month over $400M NEM was stolen from the Tokyo-based exchange Coincheck.
Last night, over $20 trillion worth of bitcoin went on sale. This had some ramifications upon the bitcoin market around the globe since the total marketcap of the currency is about $180 billion.
Here is what happened:
As a result of a "system glitch" at the Osaka-based Zaif cryptocurrency exchange, some customers were able to claim digital tokens for $0. The Asahi Shimbun reports that glitch - which lasted for 18 minutes from 5:40 p.m. to 5:58 p.m. on Feb. 16 - affected Zaif’s price calculation system, enabling seven customers to buy cryptocurrencies for free, with one client "purchasing" Bitcoin valued at 2.2 quadrillion yen ($20 trillion) and then attempting to cash in on it.
The glitch was quickly discovered:
The glitch was rectified by 7:34 p.m. the same day, and while the exchange voided the trades after discovering the error, it was still trying to resolve the issue with one customer who tried to transfer the "deeply discounted" bitcoins from the exchange, a spokesman told Reuters.
In this instance the buyer went a bit overboard with the "free" bitcoin. Next time, maybe orders on a smaller scale will not be noticed.
Zaif will undergo an internal review to figure out what happened. It also is subject to a Federal Services Agency investigation over safety and business practices.
Non-adapted content for zerohedge.com: Source
Did some actually cash out something ? I really doubt it... and the guy with the 20T $ purchase... if they weren't greedy they might have got away with it. Overall I think everything will be voided. On the stock exchange these kind of transaction are reviewed and almost every time are canceled.
how can he steal 20 trillion when all of the crypto currencies put together are worth under 500 billion doesnt make sense
yea, go figure.
Zaif showed a high level of incompetence here. It's sickening to here this. At a time when cryptocurrency is looking for a platform for public trust and this kind of stuff pops up.. This isn't good for blockchain and cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is the most valuable currency in the world at the moment.. and it has influenced the prices of other currencies to rise. And after all this patience for we the investors in cryptocurrency.. you don't just get to make horrible mistakes just like that. This alone brings in public fear on cryptocurrency and lifts the voice of the critics.
Well that's why we don't have to become over greedy if we seen something like this😅😅
But apart from the jokes the exchanges have to work on their security because we all are having our funds their and if something went wrong with the exchange then we simply losses all our money.
Thanks for the news @zer0hedge you truly share great piece of information each day.thanks😇
I would have serious misgivings dealing with Japan with anything regarding cryptocurrancies !! First the cyber stealing of millions and then the glitch resulting in trillions of bitcoins going up for sale. - only thing they have missed is the billions they could have made if they joined Steem !!!
top spreading FUD 20 trillion cant be stolen when the total market cap of crypto is 500 billion FAKE NEWS
I agree with you @gattino
Something that makes Google for example lose out a lot and may make them lose the whole video side online is because of poor communication. All it would take from YouTube is some real care and they wouldn't lose millions of dollars in value by people moving away to other more caring platforms. All it takes is a little bit of care and it makes people feel valued. Don't want to see Steemit go down into that rabbit hole. Even when there is no exciting new announcement it's still good to show what you are working on. Showing a bit of a human side.
That's alarming news, how can glitches/mistakes like this happen, the markets are coming down after reaching the resistance point but this news are only helping for the dip to be bigger and harder.
I love Japan and their investment in the future, but this things can´t happen, at least they are not supposed to... It looks like the situation is being controlled for now.
stop spreading FUD 20 trillion cant be stolen when the total market cap of crypto is 500 billion FAKE NEWS
Who's dumb enough to try to steal $20 trillion??? Only in Japan
Should've taken a cool mil and ran! In other news, how did they not transfer it immediately? That's like over an hour... Maybe BTC is just too slow to be stolen, the ultimate security
how can he steal 20 trillion when all of the crypto currencies put together are worth under 500 billion doesnt make sense
Well it did say glitch, they obviously don't have that much in their wallet to even sell
Woah that's crazy! But I can't understand why he tried to cash out such a big amount of money. Yeah, like nobody is gonna notice that you're cashing out 20 trillion dollars, right? LOL.
But it sucks that such glitches happen...
how can he steal 20 trillion when all of the crypto currencies put together are worth under 500 billion doesnt make sense
Excellent Clock Theme Thanks
The local Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported on Wednesday (February 21st) that the Japanese digital currency exchange had admitted that a "flawed order" had allowed customers to buy $ 1 trillion from bitcoin free of charge last week.
Zaif informed users of the defect in a publication on their website on Tuesday (February 20th), explaining that for 18 minutes on February 16, users themselves were able to accidentally "trade" the yen against the virtual currency - at a rate of 0 yen per currency.
Asahi Shimbun reported that seven users were able to obtain the digital currency "free", but the stock exchange was able to cancel all transactions acquired illegally.
The newspaper also reported that one of the "buyers" tried to sell 2,200 trillion yen (about $ 20 trillion) of Petcown before solving the problem.
Zive's Twitter posts reveal more criticism from users, who complain of poor back-office performance and lack of support. @zer0hedge
stop spreading FUD 20 trillion cant be stolen when the total market cap of crypto is 500 billion FAKE NEWS
Hi @zer0hedge
This is relatively complex
The latest hurdles came as regulatory interest in the stock exchange increased following the breach of $ 530 million in January from the Japanese currency exchange, Quinn Chuck.
Despite the security failure, Japan's licensing system for exchanges has gained popularity since a legal reform of the field in April 2017.
Authorized members will form part of a comprehensive, self-regulatory group from April this year, with some details still to be resolved, according to QuentiLife.
At the same time, technical errors on public consumer interfaces are far from being kept unknown. In January of this year (2018), online retailer OVERSTOCK revealed a bug that allowed customers to choose between KFH and Betcuen Cash as payment options, with the same price remaining.
@zer0hedge..bro Bitcoin is closed system with some small leakage by people actually selling out for cash. It effectively has more buyers than sellers which keeps the wheel turning. However, this inflow of financial energy allows a Ponzi fraud to occur. The coins are held at the exchange in an online wallet but all the buyer sees is a balance in their account not the actual bitcoin. I suspect that these free-purchased bitcoins reveal a programming error in the exchange software and just exposed a large fraud. If it's happening here then there's likely victims at many Ponzied online wallets/exchanges.We know from the theory of relativity that as an object is accelerated towards the velocity of light, its mass approaches infinity. So as the velocity of bitcoin trading increases, the amount of bitcoin in circulation likewise increases. Or something like that.thanks for sharing.