Cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex faces a significant security breach, leading to a loss of approximately $114 million, as reported by on-chain data.
The breach, spotted by blockchain security firms PeckShield and Cyvers, was confirmed shortly after Poloniex announced the disabling of its wallets for maintenance. Poloniex investor Justin Sun verified the incident, acknowledging the hack’s impact on the exchange.
Extent Of The Attack Unveiled
The attack targeted multiple wallets across different blockchains, with an Ethereum wallet, now identified as the “Poloniex hacker,” sending $114 million worth of tokens in 357 transactions. Another wallet on the Tron blockchain transferred about $42 million across various wallets, as revealed by Arkham data.
Ongoing String Of Crypto Exchange Hacks
This intrusion adds to a series of recent cryptocurrency exchange breaches. Just months ago, HTX suffered a hack leading to an $8 million loss in Ethereum (ETH). Preceding this, South Korean exchange Gdac lost $13 million in April, and Deribit faced a $28 million hot-wallet hack last November.
Also Read: Crypto Scammers And Hackers Swipe $889 Million In Q3 2023
Impact On Crypto Markets
On-chain data indicates the Poloniex hacker used a portion of the stolen funds to purchase around $20 million worth of Tron (TRX), boosting the token’s value by over 25%.
Poloniex’s Response And Recovery Efforts
Justin Sun assured the community of Poloniex’s financial stability and commitment to full reimbursement for affected users. The exchange also explores collaboration with other platforms to assist in fund recovery. Additionally, Poloniex is offering a 5% white hat bounty to the hacker with a seven-day deadline, seeking engagement before involving law enforcement.
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