New Zealand authorities have given the crypto exchange Cryptopia permission to resume its trading after a recent hack. But the exchange is not yet ready to resume its activity, according to a statement made on the official Discord channel on February 24th by a Cryptopia staff member.
The exchange lost over $16.1 million in a recent hack, and New Zealand police along with international law enforcement have been working together to apprehend the hackers.
The hack initially occurred on Jan. 15 and carried on for two weeks, with tens of thousands of Ethereum (ETH) wallets from the exchange being depleted of funds.
Detective Inspector Greg Murton of the High Tech Crime Group, stated that the police allowed the exchange to restart its trading:
“We have finished the main part of the work required by the High Tech Crime Group [HTCG] at Cryptopia’s business premises, although HTCG staff remain there finishing up aspects of their work. Cryptopia management have full access to their facilities and business premises and the Police investigation is not preventing their business from getting up and running again.”
From the message posted on the Cryptopia Discord channel by an admin, it is revealed that while the local authorities have given the green light for the exchange to restart its activity, the company has stated that it will not be doing so right away. In the message they explain their decision to wait:
“While the Police statement that they are no longer constraining our return to operations and trading, it would be extremely reckless for us to do this until we can fully identify the losses and ensure that the balance is absolutely secure.”
The statement also stresses that companies under New Zealand legislation commit an illegal activity if they permit reckless trading which could place a creditor’s funds and investments at risk.
Regarding the incident, they also tweeted:
” The police have now given us access back to our building, while they continue their investigations. Our staff are working relentlessly to evaluate the funds that were stolen.”
While some users are seeing this as a sign that the funds might be recovered there is no information regarding any restitution of the stolen crypto.
Featured Image: Bitcoin Exchange Guide
