That's where we're at, and there's really nothing we can do about it.
As I discussed in my RECENT RELATED POST, this attack was largely unsuccessful and the Hotbit security team was able to protect everyone's funds... so that's good. And I also noted how impressed I've been with their quick and clear client communications through the whole process. And that hasn't changed at all.
Anyone who clicks the logo on their maintenance page will be brought to a progress page which includes each detailed step, from the hack itself to each day's accomplishments. Check out the last few days below.
The only reason I'm paying such close attention is I am myself a client of theirs... I have a good chunk of my portfolio with them, and scenarios like this have been the stuff of my nightmares over the last year.
But Hotbit has actually moved up a few notches in my book. This attack is not the first story of its kind, and it seems the exchanges and their clients generally get burned pretty badly (by both hackers and regulators). So my hat is off to them for having such tight, calm control of the situation.
As much as I give Hotbit its due credit and respect, this experience still highlights for me the importance of decentralized, non-custodial tools and applications! I became a Hotbit client early on because it was easy-- and I can appreciate that I owe most of my trajectory to them-- but the more I learn about the fundamental technology we're a part of, the more crucial that foundation becomes to me.
Cryptocurrency was conceived to give the people a peer-to-peer economy free from control. Although there will always be easy corporate avenues muddying the waters, we're much better off staying the course.
So I can say that I'm glad I chose Hotbit as my centralized exchange to get the snowball rolling... but I won't be too upset when I eventually walk away. First things first though: they need to fix their shit (and they are).
