Danish bitcoin exchange Bips has shut down its consumer wallet initiative after suffering a major cyber-attack that saw £1 million in bitcoins stolen.
Copenhagen-based Bips is one of the largest bitcoin exchanges in Europe. The company says it was the target of a co-ordinated attack by Russian cyber-criminals last week.
"Several consumer wallets have been compromised and Bips will be contacting the affected users," says the company in a statement on its Website. "As a consequence Bips will temporarily close down the wallet initiative to focus on real-time merchant processing business which does not include storing of Bitcoins."
The firm says it will consider re-introducing the wallet at some point in the future with a "re-architected security model". The core merchant acquiring business was not impacted and will remain open for business, says Bips.
The attack on Bips is the latest in a string of raids conducted by cyber-criminals on bitcoin exchanges worldwide, as the soaring value of the virtual currency holds out the prospect of a bumper payday for successful hacks.