Bitcoin exchange hacked, $65 million lost

The exchange for digital currency bitcoin was hacked on Tuesday causing the price to fall and resulting in billions being stolen.

Hong Kong based digital currency exchange, Bitfinex, said the hackers were responsible for the loss of $65 million worth of bitcoin.

As a result, the price of bitcoin fell by as much as 20% to $480, down from a high of $613 earlier the same day.

On Wednesday the price had climbed back to $550.

Tuesday's hack is one of the largest thefts in the history of bitcoin.

In 2014 confidence in the digital currency dropped after hackers stole about 850,000 bitcoins, which were worth about $450 million at the time. Luckily 200,000 bitcoins were later recovered.

Hacking and theft are two of the main issues preventing the digital currency from progressing.