KuCoin, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, confirmed a large-scale hacking attack on September 26, resulting in the loss of more than $ 200 million worth of tokens. But many crypto projects were frozen, paused and reboot after the Kucoin hack.
28 September 2020 | AtoZ Markets – Crypto hacking is on the rise amid the global coronavirus pandemic. Hackers are taking advantage of the growing anxiety of COVID-19. However, Cryptocurrency exchanges have always been the main target for hackers.
KuCoin Hacked for More Than $200 Million
KuCoin reported a major security breach on September 26, affecting Bitcoin, Ether and the ERC20 hot wallet, losing more than $ 200 million in tokens. It is estimated that 1,008 BTC has been stolen, 14,713 BSV, 26,733 LTC, 9,588,383 XLM, Omni, EOS-based tether (USDT) worth $ 14 million, Ether and ERC20 worth $ 153 million, and XRP 18 million. KuCoin said:
"We detected some large withdrawals since September 26, 2020, at 03:05:37 (UTC+8). According to the latest internal security audit report, part of Bitcoin, ERC-20 and other tokens in KuCoin's hot wallets transferred out of the exchange. The assets in our cold wallets are safe and unharmed, and hot wallets have been redeployed."
The company has launched a security audit and reportedly found missing funds. KuCoin also promised to repay users who lost money due to hacking. Crypto deposits and withdrawals have been temporarily suspended while the security team is investigating the incident.
Experts say the hacker behind KuCoin's hack is selling stolen ERC-20 tokens at Uniswap. But transactions and Ethereum addresses can be tracked using Etherscan.
Several Crypto Projects Are Quick to React After Kucoin Hack
Hackers stole several tokens, but many projects were quick to respond to the breach by freezing and pausing the token. Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino has confirmed that Tether has successfully frozen a total of 22 million USDT tokens (about $ 22 million).
Velo Labs (VELO) has redeployed and replaced 122 million affected VELO tokens (approximately $ 75.7 million). VIDT_Datalink (VIDT) has announced that it will freeze 14.49 million VIDT tokens (about $ 7.2 million) transferred to suspicious addresses.
Silent Notary (SNTR) has announced that it will reissue a new SNTR and replace the affected 78.9 billion SNTR tokens (about $ 90K). Covesting (COV) has frozen 3.12 million COV tokens (about $ 600K) transferred to suspicious addresses.
KardiaChain (KAI) has completed the token SWAP by securing around 525 million KAI tokens (roughly $10.2 million). The NOIA Network (NOIA) will reissue affected tokens approximately 81 million NOIA (roughly $ 5 million) through a new smart contract.
The hack generally had little impact on the crypto economy. But prices of ETH, BTC and other top crypto assets remained relatively stable this weekend after the Kucoin incident.
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