Someone deleted some code in a popular cryptocurrency wallet — and as much as US$280 million in ethereum is locked up
User accidentally deleted the code necessary to access the digital wallets hosted by the company Parity Technologies
By Becky Peterson
An estimated US$280 million worth of the cryptocurrency ethereum is currently locked up thanks to one person’s mistake.
An unidentified user accidentally locked up all of the recently-created digital wallets within Parity — a popular digital wallet provider — by deleting the code library required to use those wallets, according to a critical security alert posted to Parity Technology’s blog on Tuesday.
The freeze impacts all “multi-sig” wallets created on Parity after July 20.
Multi-sig wallets — short for multiple signature — are especially popular with cryptocurrency startups and other collective groups because they require more than one person to agree before any currency gets moved around. It’s a safeguard against rogue employees who might run off with the cryptocurrencies for their own gain.
For this reason, it’s also a popular way of storing cryptocurrency raised in initial coin offerings, or ICOs — a new fundraising technique used by some companies in the blockchain space, in which investors trade cryptocurrencies like ether and bitcoin for new currencies created by the company.