Bitcoin purchases halted after data breach puts 250,000 crypto users at risk

Israel’s largest regulated cryptocurrency broker, Bits of Gold, is investigating a data breach that potentially exposed the personal information of up to 250,000 customers.

While customer funds and digital assets remain secure, the incident prompted Israeli retail and energy giant Paz to temporarily halt Bitcoin purchases on its Yellow convenience store app.

In an Aug. 16 notice, Bits of Gold confirmed that an unauthorized party accessed a supporting data-analysis system several days earlier. The firm is Israel’s first licensed virtual asset service provider.

The potentially exposed data includes names, national identity numbers, phone numbers, email and IP addresses, bank-account details and public crypto wallet addresses.

Account passwords and identification-document images were not exposed. Bits of Gold also said it does not hold customers’ private keys, full card details or CVV codes.

This incident adds to a growing number of crypto-sector breaches in which attackers have gained access to customer information without directly compromising digital assets.

In several recent cases, the exposed data has included names, email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses and other identifying details that can be used to target customers outside the affected platform.