Bitcoin exchange will recover from $9 million hack

The virtual Bitcoin currency will recover from the recent hack attack that caused its share value to drop to near zero, says Bitcoin Senior Developer Gavin Andresen.

The Mt.Gox exchange revealed the hack earlier this week. The cyber attack reportedly saw hackers break into the Bitcoin database to try and convert all the Bitcoins of an as yet unidentified account into U.S. dollars.

The large number of Bitcoins lost in the attack caused the virtual currency's value to plummet to near zero. Since then after Mt.Gox suspended trading Bitcoins value has climbed back to near its pre-crash rates -- around $17.50.

Andresen's comments come after many analysts and experts raised concerns about the wider implications the attack could have on the Bitcoins viability as a virtual currency.

Rather than leading to a collapse in the currency's use, speaking to the BBC Andresen argued that the hack would simply lead to improved security on sites using Bitcoins.

Transactions using Bitcoins are done through the exchange of anonymous encrypted codes. The codes are sent across a peer-to-peer network tailored to only unlock to a specific user.

In his interview Andresen admitted that the recent hack did demonstrate certain inadequacies in the Bitcoins current security. Chief among these is the fact that there is no central repository for Bitcoins, meaning that once deleted, Bitcoin files are gone for good.

The Bitcoins hack comes as a part of a growing pandemic of cyber attacks.

It has not yet been revealed whether the attack is a part of hacker collectives LulzSec and Anonymous ongoing Operation Anti-Security campaign.