Crypto trading platform AscendEX suffered a loss of $ 77.7 million in a hot wallet compromise that allowed hackers to access and transfer Ethereum-hosted tokens (ETH), Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and Polygon (POLYTECHNICAL SCHOOL) blockchains.
Shortly after completion, AscendEX proactively warned its users about the stolen funds, confirming that the hackers were unable to access the company's cold wallet reserves.
22:00 UTC 11/12, we have detected several ERC-20, BSC and Polygon tokens transferred from our active wallet. Cold Wallet is NOT affected. Ongoing investigation. If any user's funds are affected by the incident, AscendEX will cover them in full.
- AscendEX (@AscendEX_Global) December 12, 2021
According to PeckShield, a blockchain security and data analytics company, around $ 60 million in tokens were transferred through the Ethereum blockchain. Stolen Binance Smart Chain and Polygon tokens are worth $ 9.2 million and $ 8.5 million respectively, as demonstrated by EtherScan data.
Estimated loss @AscendEX_Global: $ 77.7M in total ($ 60M in @ethereum $ 9.2 million @BinanceChain $ 8.5 million @ 0xPolygon). Here is the list of transferred assets and their amounts in @ethereum pic.twitter.com/VC4DKOwu4f
- PeckShield Inc. (@peckshield) December 12, 2021
Some of the popular tokens stolen in this hack include USD Coin (USDC), Tether (USDT) and Shiba Inu (SHIB). However, AscendEX has yet to officially confirm the exact value of the tokens that the hackers took.
The company also announced that it will help affected users by covering up their losses due to this attack.
Related: Bitmart Hacked for $ 200 Million After Ethereum Exploiting Binance Smart Chain
Last week, on December 5, a similar attack on the BitMart cryptocurrency exchange resulted in a loss of nearly $ 200 million due to a hot wallet compromise hosted on the Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain blockchains.
As Cointelegraph reported, the hack was a straightforward case of transfer, exchange, and launder:
While BitMart CEO Sheldon Xia confirmed the losses on Twitter, he announced a temporary halt to all withdrawals and deposits while further investigation was conducted.
The deposit and withdrawal function of all tokens will resume step by step, along with the progress of recovering the security tests and the development of the public chain. Don't worry, we are moving forward, safety will always be the first priority.
- Sheldon Xia (@sheldonbitmart) December 8, 2021
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