Cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex has suffered a significant security breach, with hackers draining its hot wallets of approximately $114 million, according to various on-chain data analyses.
The suspected hack was first identified around 10:55 UTC by blockchain security firms PeckShield and Cyvers. Within minutes, Poloniex announced the disabling of its wallet for maintenance, later confirmed as a response to the hack by investor Justin Sun in a tweet.
The attack was broad, targeting several wallets across multiple blockchains. Arkham’s data indicates that an Ethereum wallet, now labeled as “Poloniex hacker,” executed 357 transactions to funnel out $114 million worth of tokens from Poloniex. Additionally, a wallet on the Tron blockchain moved about $42 million to different wallets.
This incident adds to a growing list of cyber attacks on crypto exchanges, including the recent $8 million HTX hack and significant losses suffered by South Korean exchange Gdac and Deribit in previous months.
Data revealed that the hacker purchased $20 million in tron (TRX), spiking the token’s price by over 25%.
Justin Sun tweeted about the ongoing investigation and assured that Poloniex, maintaining a healthy financial position, will fully reimburse the affected funds. He also mentioned exploring collaborations with other exchanges to recover the stolen assets.
Furthermore, Sun announced a 5% white hat bounty for the hacker, providing a seven-day window before proceeding with law enforcement involvement. This move aims to incentivize the return of the stolen funds and mitigate further complications in this high-stakes crypto theft saga.
