As Blockchain technology went mainstream in 2017, ICOs, users and software bugs all impacted the cryptocurrency sector.

CoinDash launched its initial coin offering (ICO) in the summer of 2017. However, shortly after the launch, the company had to shut down operations when its ethereum address was hacked. The ICO had raised $7.3 million before the address was changed and donations began to instead be transferred to an unknown user. It is estimated that $10 million was stolen during the hack.

In July 2017, the startup which operated the Parity Wallet discovered a security vulnerability in its software, which allowed a hacker to steal 150,000 ethers from user wallets, worth an estimated $30 million. In November, Parity suffered another set back when a user accidentally froze $275 million in ether due to a software bug. Developers are still working on a way to restore access to the frozen funds.

In December, NiceHash, a cryptocurrency mining marketplace was attacked by hackers who stole an estimated 4,700 bitcoins, valued at around $78 million at the time. It was discovered that a computer used by an employee has been compromised which allowed the hackers to access NiceHash systems.

At the time of writing, none of the stolen or frozen funds had been recovered and no hackers have been identified and brought to justice.