Content adapted from this Zerohedge.com article : Source
Japan is the leading country for embracing bitcoin. It is reported that there were 250,000 shops accepting the cryptocurrency by the end of 2017.
Now, Japan might be the leader in cryptocurrency exchange screw-ups.
Last month over $400M NEM was stolen from the Tokyo-based exchange Coincheck.
Last night, over $20 trillion worth of bitcoin went on sale. This had some ramifications upon the bitcoin market around the globe since the total marketcap of the currency is about $180 billion.
Here is what happened:
As a result of a "system glitch" at the Osaka-based Zaif cryptocurrency exchange, some customers were able to claim digital tokens for $0. The Asahi Shimbun reports that glitch - which lasted for 18 minutes from 5:40 p.m. to 5:58 p.m. on Feb. 16 - affected Zaif’s price calculation system, enabling seven customers to buy cryptocurrencies for free, with one client "purchasing" Bitcoin valued at 2.2 quadrillion yen ($20 trillion) and then attempting to cash in on it.
The glitch was quickly discovered:
The glitch was rectified by 7:34 p.m. the same day, and while the exchange voided the trades after discovering the error, it was still trying to resolve the issue with one customer who tried to transfer the "deeply discounted" bitcoins from the exchange, a spokesman told Reuters.
In this instance the buyer went a bit overboard with the "free" bitcoin. Next time, maybe orders on a smaller scale will not be noticed.
Zaif will undergo an internal review to figure out what happened. It also is subject to a Federal Services Agency investigation over safety and business practices.
Non-adapted content for zerohedge.com: Source