Cryptocurrency trading platform BitMart has disclosed a “large-scale security breach”. Bitmart report that a stolen private key resulted in the theft of more than $150 million worth of crypocurrencies.
BitMart, a company which describes itself as "the most trusted cryptocurrency trading platform", has said that hackers stole roughly $150m.
“At this moment we are still concluding the possible methods used,” the statement said, but it confirmed that “hackers were able to withdraw assets of the value of approximately $150m (£113m).
However, the loss was estimated to be closer to $200m (£150m) by the blockchain analytics company PeckShield.
BitMart said the tokens were transferred from the company’s “hot wallets” that allowed the company to trade on both the Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) networks. Hot wallets allow cryptocurrency owners to receive and send tokens and is connected to the open internet. The cold wallets however, are not the one’s connected to the internet directly.
Blockchain security and data analytics company PeckShield estimated the total loss to be around $200 million, calling the whole chain of events as “Pretty straightforward: transfer-out, swap, and wash.”
Tweeting from an unverified Twitter account, the company’s founder and chief executive, Sheldon Xia, claimed the hackers had accessed the private key used to control the affected wallets.
Mr Xia said: “In terms of asset deposit and withdrawals, we are confident that deposit and withdrawal functions will gradually begin on 7 December 2021. The detailed timelines will be announced very soon. Thank you.”
In its statement, the company said: “During this period, we will strive to maintain transparency and we appreciate your support. Thank you very much.”
The development is the latest in a wave of hacks that have targeted cryptocurrency platforms such as PolyNetwork, Cream Finance, Liquid, and bZx, among others.
Last week, malicious actors orchestrated a heist amounting to $120 million worth of Bitcoin and Ether assets from BadgerDAO, a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending service. In a separate development, blockchain startup MonoX Finance disclosed that a hacker drained roughly $31 million by exploiting a “smart contract” error in the software the service uses to carry out token swaps and enable customers to trade tokens with other network participants.
And in August, an unnamed attacker stole more than $600 million worth of tokens from the cryptocurrency platform PolyNetwork, only to return nearly all of the money two weeks later.
Cryptocurrency is an exciting platform for many but it comes with its own risks. We advise the traders to ensure vigilance and security of their wallets and security keys.
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