A Bitcoin exchange service has revealed that a group of Highly professional hackers made away with around 4,700 Bitcoin from NiceHash a leading mining service.
The hacked service NiceHash is a Slovenia-based mining exchange service, that pairs up people with spare computing power with those willing to pay to use it to mine for new Bitcoin.
The service said it was working assiduously to recover the Bitcoin for its users hinting that "Someone really wanted to bring us down."
NiceHash's chief executive Marko Kobal, said the attack was perpetrated early on Wednesday, when attackers accessed the company's systems at 01:18 CET (00:18 GMT) and by 03:37 the hackers, whom the company believe were based outside the European Union, had begun stealing Bitcoin.
Though the value of Bitcoin is currently extremely volatile, at the moment the amount stolen was worth approximately $80m.
The heist came at a time when the price of Bitcoin continues to surge, surprising experts and stoking concerns of a bubble.
High-stakes attacks such as this are common, with several large breaches and thefts hitting Bitcoin and other related services over the past year.
Mr Kobal while addressing the public on Facebook said an employee's computer was compromised in the attack and that forensic analysis involving local and international authorities is being conducted.
Users of the company expressed great criticism particularly on Facebook even as a spoof Facebook page for the company was set up and used to spread misinformation about the heist.
