trade.io Updates on Unauthorized Access of Third Party Hardware Wallet

LUGANO, Switzerland, October 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Value of misappropriated TIO stands at maximum potential value of 230K USD, but could be substantially lower. No customer wallets or the trade.io exchange were breached. 

In the latest response to the recent unauthorized access of 50M TIO from a single trade.io cold storage third party hardware unit, trade.io has clarified public information surrounding the attempt, the potential value of TIO taken, and the effect on TIO holders.

     (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/592785/trade_io_Logo.jpg )

Value of TIO Taken Stands at 230,000 USD 
Although the 50M TIO tokens that were taken had a potential value of approximately 11.5M USD, only around 1M TIO were completely accessed before action taken by trade.io and its partners thwarted any further attempted trading of the misappropriated tokens, thereby limiting the loss to an absolute maximum of 1M TIO, with an estimated potential maximum value of around 230,000 USD, before all associated parties could fully lock down the activity. The final value once the full effect of measures taken by trade.io have been assessed is likely to be significantly lower.

No Hack On trade.io Security Systems or Client Wallets 
Jim Preissler, trade.io CEO, explains that the unauthorized access had no bearing on client accounts, the trade.io exchange or liquidity pool, and all remain operational.  "Thanks to the fast action by management and partners, it's important to note that although the theft of TIO from a cold storage wallet is a major crime and inconvenience, at no point were client assets under threat. Technical security on the exchange and client funds were never compromised and have not been affected. The TIO that was taken was owned by trade.io and reserved for our lending facility, the liquidity pool, which has been operating smoothly and also remains unaffected. Protocol was followed to a T, and thanks to the good work of our team and partners, we're now very close to a complete and swift resolution for more than 95% of TIO holders. All remaining cases will be dealt with on an urgent, case by case basis."

Roy Gutshall, COO, adds ""Investigations are ongoing, but have so far concluded that there was no technical hack on the third party cold storage unit, and trade.io systems remain secure and unbreached. All exchanges listing TIO were immediately alerted to disable deposits, withdrawals and trading of TIO, and our security team began its investigation. The responsiveness by the various teams within trade.io prevented the situation from deteriorating and helped quarantine the issue. We are providing regular updates to media and our community, and have announced a detailed plan of action to fork TIO."

Resolution for TIO Holders 
In order to protect all TIO holders, trade.io management has decided to fork TIO. The name of the forked token will be Trade Token X with the ticker TIOx. The fork will occur on 24 October 2018 by end of day New York time. TIOx will begin trading on 31 October 2018 exclusively on trade.io exchange, with the exact time to be announced.

Given the fact that TIO was traded on multiple exchanges outside of trade.io, and some have been helpful in assisting trade.io, while others have not with respect to containing the breach, trade.io has devised a customized approach to reduce the impact as much as possible on TIO holders and make sure everyone is treated fairly.

Full details on TIO/TIOx fork have been released to TIO holders:

https://medium.com/@trade.io/important-update-tio-tiox-fork-1be3df8f0394  

trade.io Offering $250,000 Bounty 
trade.io is offering a $250,000 USD equivalent bounty to anyone who supplies information that leads to the legal arrest of the bad actors involved in the attempted breach on trade.io on Saturday October 20th, 2018.

About trade.io 
trade.io is a next-generation financial institution based on blockchain technology, comprised of its Exchange, Consulting Services, Incubator and Liquidity Pool which allows holders of its utility token "TIOx" the ability to participate in the growth of the company. By leveraging decades of experience in the investment banking, trading, fintech and compliance and combining them with the power and transparency of the distributed ledger, trade.io has created a truly unique platform built to grow and adapt as the blockchain industry continues to mature.