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NiceHash

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NiceHash
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
Marketplace
Headquarters
British Virgin Islands
Country of originSlovenia
Area servedWorldwide (190+ Locations)
Founder(s)Matjaž Škorjanc, Marko Kobal
IndustryCryptocurrency
ServicesCryptocurrency Exchange, Software, Cryptocurrency Mining
Employees60
ParentH-Bit Holding
URLwww.nicehash.com
RegistrationOptional
Users2.5 Million
Launched2014; 10 years ago (2014)
Current statusOnline

NiceHash is a cryptocurrency broker and exchange with an open marketplace for buyers and sellers of hashing power. The company provides software for cryptocurrency mining. The company was founded in 2014 by two Slovenian university students, Marko Kobal and Matjaž Škorjanc.[1] The company is based in The British Virgin Islands[2] and has offices in Maribor, Slovenia.[3]

History

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NiceHash was founded in 2014 by Matjaž Škorjanc, a former medical student turned computer programmer,[4] and Marko Kobal. On December 6, 2017, approximately 4,700 Bitcoins (US$64 million at the time of the hack) were stolen from NiceHash allegedly by a spear phishing attack.[5] On December 21, Kobal resigned as the CEO.[6] On that day, the company also re-opened its marketplace after the attack. On February 17, 2021, the North Korean hacker group Lazarus was indicted for the hack.[7][8]

Škorjanc was one of the creators of a malware called Mariposa botnet and served four years and ten months in a Slovenian prison.[9] On June 5, 2019, US law enforcement reopened a case in the operations of the Mariposa (Butterfly Bot, BFBOT) malware gang.[10] In 2019, the FBI moved forward with new charges and arrest warrants against four suspects, including Škorjanc.[11][12] Matjaž was detained in Germany in 2019 for eight months. Germany and Slovenia rejected the American requests for extradition due to double jeopardy and he was released in 2020.[13]

Škorjanc announced that the CEO in 2024 would be Vladimir Hozjan.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Peterson, Becky (2017-12-30). "Bitcoin startup NiceHash has a new CEO just weeks after hackers stole $63 million from the company". Business Insider France (in French). Archived from the original on 2021-11-02. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  2. ^ "NiceHash - Leading Cryptocurrency Platform for Mining and Trading". www.nicehash.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-07. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  3. ^ "About NiceHash". NiceHash. Archived from the original on 2017-12-27. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  4. ^ "DKUM - Iskanje". dk.um.si. Archived from the original on 2021-11-02. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  5. ^ "Millions May Have Been Stolen in a Bitcoin Marketplace Hacking Heist". Fortune. Archived from the original on 2017-12-28. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  6. ^ "Marko Kobal Resigns". LinkedIn. 2017-12-21. Archived from the original on 2019-06-28. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
  7. ^ "Three North Korean Military Hackers Indicted in Wide-Ranging Scheme to Commit Cyberattacks and Financial Crimes Across the Globe". www.justice.gov. 2021-02-17. Archived from the original on 2023-04-08. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  8. ^ "North Korean hacker group indicted for 2017 NiceHash attack". NiceHash (Press release). Archived from the original on 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  9. ^ "Slovenian hacker sentenced to jail for 'malicious' program". phys.org. Agence France-Presse. 2013-12-23. Archived from the original on 2024-01-04. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  10. ^ "Four International Hacking Suspects Charged with Racketeering". US Department of Justice. 2019-06-05. Archived from the original on 2019-06-08. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  11. ^ "Eight years later, the case against the Mariposa malware gang moves forward in the US". ZDNet. 2019-06-11. Archived from the original on 2021-10-08. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  12. ^ Canellis, David (2019-06-11). "FBI charges NiceHash founder over dangerous dark web malware (again)". TNW | Hardfork. Archived from the original on 2021-09-21. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  13. ^ "Slovenskega hekerja le niso izročili Američanom". www.slovenskenovice.si (in Slovenian). Archived from the original on 2021-11-02. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  14. ^ "NiceHash". Nicehash. Archived from the original on 2023-12-29. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
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