OKCoin platform user's bitcoins stolen, legal experts believe the platform cannot be exempted from liability

(Original title: OKCoin platform account was stolen, legal experts said the platform cannot be exempted from responsibility)

Recently, according to several OKCoin users, due to security issues on the platform, the passwords of many users were leaked, causing losses totaling tens of millions of yuan.

According to preliminary statistics, since September, more than ten users have reported on Weibo that their OKCoin passwords have been leaked, and hackers have lost the bitcoins in their accounts through methods such as counter-trading and forced liquidation. The stolen users have lost more than 600 bitcoins, worth about 20 million yuan. More than 20 victims have now formed a WeChat rights protection group, hoping to resolve the dispute through legal means.

The victim, Wang, said that on the morning of September 28, his account on the OKEx trading platform was logged in by a German IP address, who participated in the newly launched Bitcoin-Ethereum Classic (BTC-ETC) transaction, forced all positions to be closed, and cancelled pending orders. Within an hour, the 200 bitcoins in the account were consumed, resulting in a loss of more than 5 million yuan.

The victim, Ma, encountered a similar situation. On the morning of September 25, Ma's account on the OKEx trading platform was logged in by a Guangdong IP address. Within half an hour, 170 bitcoins were consumed by counter-trading, resulting in a loss of more than 5 million yuan.

The situations encountered by other victims were similar. The hacking time was concentrated in September, and the operators often lost all the Bitcoins in a very short time.

OKEx customer service responded to the victim: This behavior was done by hackers, the theft case has nothing to do with the platform, and the victim can report to the police on their own.

Victims reported that they generally encountered difficulties in filing a case. Because Bitcoin is a new and popular thing in recent years, there are very few cases of Bitcoin theft, and local police rarely encounter similar cases. Some local police believe that the value of Bitcoin is difficult to determine and should not file a case.

Wang Yi, a lawyer at Shandong Tianju Law Firm, said that according to the notice on preventing bitcoin risks issued by the People's Bank of China and five other ministries in 2013, bitcoin is a virtual commodity that can be freely bought and sold, and the loss price should be estimated based on the current price.

On September 1, a user named "timetimetime7" on Weibo said that 343 Litecoins were missing from his OKCoin account. The user said that the OKCoin contract account does not require any password or verification to transfer funds to the spot account, and the currency-to-currency transaction developed has no depth at all and is easily exploited by hackers, and OKCoin does not provide corresponding protection.

It is understood that the OKCoin platform is a virtual currency trading platform under Beijing Lekuda Network Technology Co., Ltd. If Lekuda stole the money, what responsibility should it bear? If Lekuda has no connection with the hackers, what responsibility should it bear?

Jin Xinke, director of the Infringement Research Office of Zhejiang Ruida Law Firm, believes that if the company's senior management embezzles, they will be suspected of fraud or theft and may face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. If Lekuda has no connection with the hackers, it will be difficult to exempt from civil liability.

Yuan Ye, a partner at Shandong Jinzhou Law Firm, believes that according to the "Regulations of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Involving Suspected Economic Crimes in the Trial of Economic Dispute Cases", the subject of criminal liability does not compete with the subject of civil liability, and the victim has the right to file a tort damages lawsuit with the court and require the person responsible to bear additional compensation liability for the unrefunded part. Even if the criminal proceeds are not recovered, the victim can seek relief through civil litigation procedures for the losses suffered by the criminal act.

Lawyers advise victims to actively prepare evidence and resolve disputes through legal channels.