Bitcoin Plummets Further after $5.2 Million Theft

One of the main reasons Bitcoin hasn’t really been accepted by the wider public is its instability. That is probably the reason why none of the major poker rooms are really looking into adding Bitcoin as a deposit option; the cryptocurrency is simply too volatile.

As iGaming reported, during the last three months of 2014, Bitcoin took a big hit when its value went down to $300 from $430. This year hasn’t started off any better, as it plummeted even further after a hacker attack on Bitstamp resulted in $5.2 million worth of Bitcoins being stolen.

The Slovenia-based site announced yesterday that 19,000 Bitcoins, worth about $5.2 million, were stolen in a hacker attack. The perpetrators remain unknown and the CEO of the company ensured everyone that the loss will be covered by the company as long as customers follow the instructions provided to them after the attack and have not deposited into their old Bitcoin addresses.

Despite the fact that Bitstamp is willing to cover losses, the idea that such a big amount of money can be stolen in this day and age does not inspire confidence. Immediately after the theft was made public, the value of Bitcoin tumbled further, all the way down to $260. It has recently bounced back slightly and now stands at $285.

Bitstamp is not a small company. In fact, it is one of the biggest Bitcoin exchanges in the world, so an attack of that magnitude on a company with a fine reputation is disturbing to say the least. In order for Bitcoin to actually enter mainstream channels, these kinds of things must stop happening completely.

Those using Bitcoin probably remember the scandal surrounding the biggest site for trading the cryptocurrency, Mt. Gox, when some $550 million worth of Bitcoins went MIA. Although some recent evidence indicates that it could have been an inside job, the implications remain very unsettling.

Bitcoin and poker

Although several sites currently offer their customers the option to use Bitcoin to deposit and play poker, and a few more will be opening in 2015, such sites have never properly gotten off the ground. Bitcoin could be considered a viable option for American players who can’t deposit using traditional methods, but players are basically exchanging one uncertainty for another by using Bitcoin.

Big sites like PokerStars or 888poker are apparently not looking to introduce Bitcoin into their offerings due to the reasons mentioned above. While some believe that the anonymity that a cryptocurrency provides is very appealing, it also opens up the door for all sorts of malicious actions and thefts.

Bitcoin exchanges must put a lot of work into their security procedures and the coin itself must become much less volatile before any of the mainstream sites (poker or otherwise) start to seriously consider it as an option. Until that happens, it will remain on the margins, supported by some, but largely avoided by the general public.