CoinEx May Have Been Subjected To A Hacker Attack
Crypto exchange CoinEx faced a potential security breach on September 12, as unusually large outflows were detected. Experts suspect that the exchange may have been hacked, with estimated losses amounting to approximately $27 million, according to blockchain security platform Cyvers Alerts.
A known CoinEx hot wallet moved about 4,947 Ethereum (ETH) to an Ethereum account with no prior transaction history at around 1:21 pm UTC. Following this transfer, a potential total of $18 million ETH, $8.5 million TRON and $291,000 MATIC were stolen.
The outflow raised eyebrows within the crypto community, with PeckShield, a blockchain security firm, labeling the incident as "suspicious."
Slowmist estimates the total amount siphoned off by the hackers to be greater at $48 million.
The amount stolen has risen to $54 million recently, according to the figures compiled by SlowMist.
The exchange has also identified the list of suspicious wallet addresses linked to the attack.
At 5:25 p.m. UTC, CoinEx confirmed the suspicious withdrawals on Twitter, noting that their Risk Control System had discovered unusual transactions from numerous hot wallet addresses used to store the exchange's funds. The platform announced the formation of a special investigation team to look into the incident's cause.
The exchange assured its users that the withdrawn crypto represents only a fraction of its total reserves and pledged to provide 100% compensation for any losses resulting from the breach.