Pikcio, a Switzerland-registered company focused on management and exchange of customer data, has recently concluded a token swap. The swap follows an incident in which 15 million PKC (18 percent of its total supply) was swindled in a confidence trick by attackers who impersonated a major cryptocurrency platform. Of the stolen 15 million PKC, 8.5 million PKC tokens were sold by the attackers on the open market before trading was halted.
Token Swap
Pikcio reacted to the incident by closing trading on the Switcheo non-custodial exchange in addition to suspending deposits and withdrawals on the Coinall and Coinbene centralized exchanges. These actions were taken to prevent further stolen PKC from being liquidated on the market.
A token swap was also performed, with PKX tokens airdropped to replace the now-deprecated PKC. The swap was completed by August 3rd, 2019.
PikcioChain’s PKX markets on Switcheo are scheduled to reopen at 4:00 pm (UTC + 8:00) on August 12th.
How the Incident Occurred
The confidence trick, which Pikcio president Didier Collin de Casaubon addressed in detail in a Youtube video on July 15th, 2019, took months to complete.
Pikcio was first approached in March 2019 by individuals claiming to be from an established cryptocurrency platform. After further communication over LinkedIn, Skype, and Telegram throughout the following months, Pikcio eventually signed a contract and non-disclosure agreement with the impersonators. Details of the cooperation involved an exchange of tokens with the supposed partner company, which PikcioChain declined to name; however, it was stated to be a “Top 10 blockchain platform” by Collin de Casaubon in his video.
In a statement issued on the Pikcio Telegram on July 2nd, 2019, the team asserted that “we would like to assure our loyal community that this incident has in no way impacted Pikcio’s financial situation and that we still have what it takes to carry out the projects you trust us with.”
Legal Action
Regarding the attackers, Pikcio further stated in its Telegram group that “Pikcio has filed an international complaint with the appropriate authorities. Coinall, Switcheo, and NEO are all working alongside Pikcio to solve the technical issues that have arisen as a result of the incident.”
Further details about PikcioChain’s PKX token can be found at the following link:
https://medium.com/@PikcioChain/token-swap-is-completed-497a36d50ca1
About The Author: Colin Closser
Colin Closser, M.D., was a speaker at the first NEO DevCon in San Francisco. A devoted contrarian, he has managed the improbable: a peaceful and healthy life, despite holding a medical degree. He aspires towards the wisdom of Michael Lewis and Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
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