Crypto Exchange Service ShapeShift Offline After Hack

Digital currency exchange service ShapeShift is offline after a security incident earlier this week.

A statement posted to Reddit by ShapeShift CEO Eric Voorhees offered more details as to why the site was taken offline, indicating an unknown quantity of funds had been taken from the service’s connected wallets. Customers with pending orders would receive their money within 24 hours, the company said.

Voorhees wrote:

"Yesterday afternoon, we noticed several pieces of evidence indicating our server infrastructure was compromised and threatened. We made the decision to scrap that infrastructure, and rebuild in a wholly new and safe environment. This is what we are currently engaged in. While we hate having the service offline, it was the safer path."

Voorhees did not give a timeline for when the service, which offers instant cryptocurrency exchange for a variety of cryptocurrencies, would be back online. A notice posted to the main ShapeShift website indicates that the service will be offline for at least several days.

Prior to announcing the hack, ShapeShift had taken to Twitter to state that it had taken its website offline, citing maintenance.

Disclaimer: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in ShapeShift.

Computers offline image via Shutterstock