Cryptocurrency exchange BingX loses over $43 million in security breach
BingX has confirmed that it was the target of a security breach that led to the loss of over $43 million in cryptocurrency assets.
🚨 Security Update 🚨
— BingX (@BingXOfficial) September 20, 2024
At 4 AM (SGT) on Sept 20, our team detected abnormal access to the BingX hot wallet, suspecting a hacker attack. We immediately initiated an emergency response, including asset transfers and pausing withdrawals.
🔒 Only minor losses so far, and we’ve got… https://t.co/7CFsqF5W20
PeckShield's security analysts reported that the incident caused an estimated $43 million in cryptocurrency losses, although the exchange describes the security breach on its hot wallet as "minor" considering the amount of assets lost. The company said that the majority of the funds taken from the exchange were moved in smaller amounts (13.25 million in ether, $2.3 million in BNB, $4.4 million in USDT).
At the time of publication, the compromised wallet—which, according to Etherscan, got the majority of its fund from the BingX hot wallet—contained more than 345 ETH and over $1.2 million worth of tokens. The stolen cryptocurrency, according to data from Etherscan, was exchanged for ETH and BNB at DEXs like Kyberswap and Uniswap. The hacker with the wallet address 0xf7e8033... 47b43326 performed 66 transactions on Thursday, September 19, 2024.
Action taken by the BingX team
BingX CEO Vivien Lien wrote on X that the cryptocurrency exchange experienced a "minor" amount of asset theft and that the exchange will reimburse users for any losses.
Lien said that the technical team noticed unusual network access on September 20, around 4 a.m. Singapore time, and it suspected a security breach on the exchange hot wallet. The exchange emergency plan, which included an urgent asset transfer and withdrawal suspension, was put into action right away. Deposits and withdrawals are momentarily suspended and should be restored at the latest in 24 hours. The overall loss is small and manageable, and assured users that the incident will not affect the business's ongoing operations as trading services will keep running normally.
BingX faces criticism after $43 million exploit
Within the cryptocurrency community, the incident has drawn criticism and worries. Co-founder of the startup g8keep Harrison Leggio with the handle “Pop Punk” on X questioned BingX's initial explanation of the issue, referring to it as "wallet maintenance" rather than a possible security breach.
While some users noticed that messages about the possible hack were removed from BingX's official chat groups, others reported delays in processing withdrawals made prior to the official announcement.
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