Bitcoin Exchange Bitstamp Suspends Operations Following Hack The world's second busiest USD Bitcoin exchange is offline after some of its operational wallets were compromised.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Updated 5:15 p.m. ET with statement from Bitstamp

Fueling fears of a Mt. Gox-caliber meltdown, Bitstamp -- the world's second most-trafficked USD bitcoin exchange -- ceased operations today in the wake of a hack.

The Slovenia- and UK-based bitcoin marketplace temporarily halted withdrawals, then later completely shut down, after discovering that some of its operational "hot wallets" were compromised yesterday.

Related: Bitcoin Named Worst-Performing Currency of 2014

In a statement to Entrepreneur late Monday, Bitstamp said that less than 19,000 BTC, or about $5.1 million at today's pricing, was lost and assured that all customers will be able to recover the balances they held before service was halted. "This breach represents a small fraction of Bitstamp's total bitcoin reserves, the overwhelming majority of which are held in secure offline cold storage systems. We would like to reassure all Bitstamp customers that their balances held prior to our temporary suspension of services will not be affected and will be honored in full."

The site is being transitioned onto a "new safe environment" and is expected to resume service in coming days, the company said.

Related: Microsoft Is Now the Largest Company in the World to Accept Bitcoin

The trouble at the popular exchange couldn't come at a worse time for the ultra-hyped virtual money, only days ago dubbed the world's worst-performing currency of 2014. Today its price fell below $270, the cryptocurrency's lowest value since 2013. According to the CoinDesk Price Index, which Bitstamp was just temporarily suspended from, Bitcoin is currently trading at $270.

Related: Where to Stash That Cryptocash? This Man Put It Under His Skin.

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

'Unprecedented in Our 53-Year History': Southwest Airlines Announces Its First Mass Layoffs Ever

The airline is eliminating 15% of its corporate workforce, including many in senior leadership positions.

Side Hustle

This 30-Year-Old's $6,000-a-Month Side Hustle Started Making Money 'Immediately' — But He's Not Quitting His Day Job

Derrick Mathy works in orthopedic surgical device sales and is on a mission to bring people together in real life.

Business News

Elon Musk's xAI Claims Its New Grok 3 AI Is Better Than ChatGPT and DeepSeek: 'Seeing the Beginnings of Creativity'

xAI debuted the new AI on Monday, claiming it has 10 times the computational power of Grok 2.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Franchise

Sam The Concrete Man is North America's #1 Residential Concrete Franchise

Sam The Concrete Man franchisees have the flexibility of working from home in the high demand residential concrete industry.

Thought Leaders

24 Signs You're Destined to Become a Millionaire

Start making money at a young age. Warren Buffett sold packets of gum to his neighbors at age six!