- CoinEx suffered a hack on September 12, with losses estimated at nearly $54 million.
- Approximately $5.98M in BTC and $18M in ETH were drained from CoinEx’s hot wallet.
- The exchange detected these anomalous withdrawals through its Risk Control System.
CoinEx, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, found itself in the spotlight on September 12 amidst suspicions of a security breach that potentially cost them close to a staggering $53.9 million. The incident sent shockwaves through the crypto community, as large withdrawals to an unfamiliar address raised red flags.
On Tuesday, at 1:21 PM UTC, around 4,947 ETH, worth $7.9 million, were swiftly transferred from a well-known CoinEx hot wallet to an Ethereum (ETH) account. What raised eyebrows even further was the recipient account’s complete absence of any prior transaction history. Following this mysterious transfer, a massive volume of tokens embarked on a one-way journey from CoinEx’s hot wallet to the same enigmatic address. This flurry of activity was sufficient to catch the attention of numerous blockchain security companies that promptly labeled the withdrawals as “suspicious.”
Blockchain security platform Slow Mist estimated a loss of nearly $53.96 million worth of cryptocurrencies. The exploit included Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP, Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), TRON (TRX), Binance Coin (BNB), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and others on the stolen list.
Notably, CryptoQuant’s director of research, Julio Moreno, expressed his concerns about the unusual behavior of CoinEx’s wallet. He highlighted that the wallet’s Ether reserves had dwindled to nearly zero ETH, a startling revelation.
CoinEx Confirms Its Stance
In response to the brewing crisis, CoinEx took to Twitter at 5:25 PM UTC on Tuesday to address the issue. They revealed that their Risk Control System had detected “anomalous withdrawals” from multiple hot wallet addresses that are responsible for safeguarding the exchange’s assets.
To tackle this critical situation head-on, CoinEx assembled a “special investigative team” to investigate the matter and ascertain the extent of the breach.
Urgent Notice: Security Incident on CoinEx – Immediate Actions Underway
— CoinEx Global (@coinexcom) September 12, 2023
On September 12, 2023, our Risk Control System detected anomalous withdrawals from several hot wallet addresses used to store CoinEx's exchange assets. Promptly recognizing the gravity of the situation, we…
To reassure concerned users, CoinEx emphasized that the withdrawn cryptocurrency represents only a fraction of their overall reserves. They pledged to compensate users for any losses incurred due to this breach, promising a full 100% reimbursement.
