Originally posted on Gigaom:
On Monday the bitcoin exchange Bitstamp suspended operations after discovering a security flaw that allowed the theft of around 19,000 bitcoins, worth roughly $5 million. On Friday morning, its co-founder said it would return later in the day. Bitstamp said on Wednesday it would reopen within 24 hours, and also that its customers wouldn't lose money due to the incident. At the time of writing, the service has not yet reopened. Blockchain analyst Danno Ferrin wrote in a blog post on Thursday that the stolen bitcoins were likely "being spent or being prepared for spending." Bitstamp co-founder Damijan Merlak told Reuters on Friday that the breach was under investigation by "various institutions" in Europe and the U.S.
