After hackers stole $1M in cryptocurrency, Bellevue venture capitalist launched PR blitz…

Bellevue-based venture capitalist Gregg Bennett is suing local cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex after, he alleges, the exchange allowed hackers to access his account and make off with nearly $1 million in Bitcoin.

And in recent weeks, he’s stepped up his campaign against the company.

He’s purchased Twitter ads attacking Bittrex as an “Unsafe Exchange.” He’s hired stand-ins to join him in waving signs with the slogan “Bittrex is Unsafe” in downtown Bellevue, where he believes Bittrex has an office. He retained a mobile billboard to circle outside a Las Vegas bitcoin convention. He even has a website, bittrexunsafe.com, that lays out his case against the company.

“I felt pretty secure about putting my money into a local institution that claims to be secure, then it was stolen out from under me,” Bennett said in an interview. “It seems silly that these exchanges claim they have no responsibility to protect customer assets. Normal people would think that’s…