A Crypto Wallet Linked to Poloniex Exchange Suffers Suspected Breach
On Nov. 10, blockchain explorer Etherscan detected suspicious outflows from a crypto wallet associated with the digital asset exchange Poloniex. It is estimated that as much as $100 million in crypto was drained by the attackers, according to blockchain security firms. The incident is believed to be a result of a “private key compromise,” as stated by blockchain security firm CertiK. The funds have already been transferred to four externally owned accounts, with some accounts being swapped into Ether (ETH).
In response to the suspicious outflows, the exchange disabled the wallet and has not yet issued an official statement regarding the hack. Despite the lack of an official statement, Justin Sun, who acquired the exchange in 2019, posted on Twitter that the team is investigating the hacking incident and will fully reimburse the affected users. Sun also announced a 5% white-hat bounty to the Poloniex hacker and stated that they will collaborate with law enforcement authorities if the funds are not returned within seven days.
In the midst of this negative incident, Tron (TRX), the native cryptocurrency of one of Sun’s other crypto projects, has seen a 20% increase in price, according to digital asset information tracker CoinGecko. The cryptocurrency went from trading for $0.09 to $0.11 on the same day as the hack.
These events come amidst a larger trend of exploits, hacks, and scams that have stolen almost $1 billion in 2023, according to a report by an unnamed source.
The incident has raised concerns about the security and integrity of digital asset exchanges, and the response from Poloniex and its team will be closely watched in the coming days.
❗Follow us on Twitter to get all the latest crypto news as soon as they're out! 🚀
About the author - J-S Tremblay
I've been involved in the cryptocurrency world since 2016 and trading since 2019. I started Moon and Lambo in 2021. I'm passionate about crypto and love to share my knowledge. I hate bankers and I hope that cryptocurrency will change the financial world for the better. View full profile...
View J-S Tremblay website
