Massive Outflows Prompt Cold Wallet Transfer

Hong Kong's CoinEx Global Exchange is reeling from a major security breach, which initially reported a loss of $27 million in cryptocurrencies. However, new reports from Wu Blockchain now estimate the loss at more than $54 million. The breach saw Ethereum (ETH), TRON (TRX), and Polygon (MATIC) wallets compromised.

In response to the breach, CoinEx began transferring its remaining crypto assets from its hot wallet to its cold wallet. The cold wallet currently holds assets worth $89 million, with ETH accounting for $51.7 million and USDT amounting to $18.23 million.

The exchange has informed its customers that it will commence wallet maintenance starting from 23:18:30 (UTC+8) on September 12th, temporarily suspending deposit and withdrawal services.

The exchange is still evaluating the full extent of the lost crypto assets resulting from the breach. Meanwhile, it identified a second set of suspicious wallet addresses involved in the attack, which extracted tokens including Ether, XRP, Solana, Kadena, and Dagger.

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User Assets Secure, Full Compensation Promised

CoinEx sought to reassure its users by stating that all user assets are safe and secure. It has temporarily suspended deposit and withdrawal services, committing to providing full compensation to affected users for any losses caused by the hack.

This incident serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing security challenges faced by cryptocurrency exchanges. Last year, hackers stole more than $3.8 billion in cryptocurrencies, with North Korea-backed cyber actors accounting for $1.7 billion of that total, according to blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis.