by Lulu Yilun Chen and Yuji Nakamura
Bloomberg.com
After suffering a crippling hack earlier this week, Hong Kong-based bitcoin exchange Bitfinex said it may spread the loss among its users, including ones not directly impacted by the hack.
“We are leaning towards a socialized loss scenario among bitcoin balances and active loans to BTCUSD positions,” the exchange wrote in a blog post Friday. Bitfinex is still “settling positions and balances,” and will provide more details soon, it said.
This week’s attack is potentially the second-largest on an exchange since Japan’s Mt. Gox, and could further erode confidence in the virtual currency.