The Poloniex exchange, backed by Justin Sun, is currently under suspicion of a compromise, with potential losses surpassing $120 million. Taking swift action, Poloniex has disabled the exchange wallet for maintenance, ensuring users that updates will be provided once the wallet is re-enabled. An active investigation into the incident is underway.
In response to the situation, the Poloniex team has provided reassurance to users, affirming that despite the incident, the exchange maintains a strong financial position and is committed to fully reimbursing the affected funds. Additionally, the exchange is proactively exploring collaborations with other platforms to aid in the recovery of lost assets.
Justin Sun, the founder of TRON, has echoed Poloniex’s commitment to a thorough investigation into the hacking incident. In a bid to resolve the situation, he has offered a 5% white-hat bounty to the suspected Poloniex hacker, urging the return of funds to specified ETH, TRX, and BTC wallets within a 7-day period before legal action is pursued.
Before the wallet freeze, the alleged hacker, utilizing a Tron chain address, conducted substantial asset transfers, including $21.73 million in USDT, $14.05 million in BTC, $3.65 million in USDD, and $1.78 million in USDC, amounting to over $42.83 million. As of now, only $6.54 million remains frozen.
In light of the incident, reports have surfaced suggesting that Justin Sun initiated multiple ETH transfers to a CEX recently, prompting speculation about a potential short signal. Some community members wrote that the actual stolen amount could exceed the reported $60 million, with Arkham data indicating figures surpassing $100 million. Yet, additional information regarding the extent of the loss is still anticipated.
Poloniex Exchange Hack
On the same day, Australian crypto exchange CoinSpot experienced a $2.4 million hack, believed to have resulted from a “probable private key compromise” on at least one of its hot wallets. Blockchain analyst ZachXBT traced two transactions to the alleged hacker’s wallet, which subsequently transferred funds to the Bitcoin network via ThorChain and Wan Bridge.
CertiK, a blockchain security firm, indicated that the exploit in the CoinSpot incident likely stemmed from a “probable private key compromise” on a hot wallet. This unfortunate series of events, including both CoinSpot and Poloniex, has raised concerns within the cryptocurrency community, highlighting persistent security challenges and underscoring the imperative for collaborative efforts to address and mitigate such incidents in the industry.