New Zealand Police have announced that hacked crypto exchange Cryptopia can reopen for business “whenever they like”, but the site remains closed, prompting doubts that they ever will. Even if they did, whether anyone would trust the exchange given the myriad problems it has experienced over the years is debatable.
Green Light Given
The news of the exchange being able to re-open was broken Wednesday when The New Zealand Herald spoke to the inspector in charge of the investigation, detective inspector Greg Murton who confirmed this was the case:
“We have finished the main part of the work required by the High Tech Crime Group 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.”
Murton declined to comment on a number of issues, including potential filing of charges, how much was taken, or whether the hack continued while they were investigating it. Despite the exchange having been given the all clear by the police it still remains dormant, with those seeking information through official channels being met with a wall of silence. This has led to an increase in speculation that the site will never reopen, while others predict that reopening would lead to a mass withdrawal:
@Cryptopia_NZ opening again would be a bank run, where’s those $10’s M coming from for users to withdraw
— OKorator (@OKcashOrator) February 13, 2019
Customers Deserve Explanation
As has been pointed out by some account holders, the fact that the police have ceded control back to the owners means that they can no longer hide behind the mask of enforced silence. Now that the news is out, every day that passes with no official word from the exchange increases the damage done to their reputation and reduces their chances of retaining customers.
For the sake of the owners, and more importantly their long-suffering customers, Cryptopia should come out as soon as possible with a full explanation of what really happened and what they are doing to prevent a repeat, otherwise the business could be a write off anyway.
So… will #Cryptopia finally come clean and give us some facts or even, heaven forbid, access to our accounts so we can see the mess for ourselves?
The excuse “police does not let us”: not valid any more. @Cryptopia_NZ#cryptopia #hack #investigationhttps://t.co/aqJEsEnp31
— Martin the Wanderer ? (@martinwanderer) February 12, 2019
