Hackers exploited the HTX exchange and Heco Chain, two cryptocurrency platforms connected to well-known businessman Justin Sun, stealing approximately $115 million so far.
Hackers targeted HTX, formerly known as Huobi, and took about $30 million worth of cryptocurrency, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to market analytics firm CryptoQuant, a total of $85.4 million worth of cryptocurrency has been stolen from the Heco Chain.
In two hacks, two cryptocurrency platforms connected to well-known digital entrepreneur Justin Sun may have taken about $115 million in total.
The company said in a statement on Wednesday that among the projects being targeted is the HTX digital currency exchange, formerly known as Huobi, from which hackers stole cryptocurrencies valued at about $30 million.
Heco Chain, a purported blockchain bridge, was also compromised, according to HTX.
Sun, a Heco Chain associate and HTX investor, verified the incidents.
By establishing a bridge between distinct networks, a blockchain facilitates the swift exchange and transfer of multiple cryptocurrencies. It has been shown that these chains are susceptible to hacking.
According to market analytics company CryptoQuant, the Heco Chain has seen cryptocurrency theft worth $85.4 million in total. Most of it was expressed in ether and the stablecoin USDT.
Additionally, a sizable quantity of HBTC, the native cryptocurrency of HTX, was taken. CoinGecko data shows that the price of HBTC was down over 5% from the previous day.
HTX declared that it “has implemented urgent measures to protect user assets” and that it is tracking down the attack’s origin. As a “precautionary measure,” the exchange has momentarily stopped processing deposits and withdrawals on HTX and Heco Chain.
Additionally, the business promised to “fully compensate for any losses incurred due to the hot wallet attack.” A cryptocurrency wallet that is online is referred to as a “hot wallet.”
About 11,100 ether tokens have been transferred from the HTX exchange in the last few hours, according to data from CryptoQuant. According to a CryptoQuant representative who spoke to CNBC, this amounts to about $23 million in cryptocurrency and is primarily the result of hackers stealing the virtual currency as well as a few users attempting to withdraw their funds from the exchange.
Bradley Park, an analyst at CryptoQuant, stated that since stablecoins USDT and USDC can be frozen, hackers are transferring their pilfered assets to the more liquid ether asset.
When contacted, Tether, the company that issues USDT, and Circle, the company that issues USDC, were not immediately available for comment.
