HTX, previously known as Huobi Global, faced a significant loss of approximately $13.6 million in an exploit totalling $86.6 million on the HECO Chain bridge on November 22.
According to a report from cybersecurity firm Cyvers, the attack involved three compromised hot wallets, resulting in the exchange of user and platform assets for Ether, which were then distributed to various Ethereum addresses.
The losses included various cryptocurrencies such as 1,240 ETH, 7.3 million USDT, 1.78 million USD Coin, and 62,200 LINK. Justin Sun, the de-facto owner of HTX, assured users of full compensation for the hot wallet losses and temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals, emphasizing the security of all funds.
This incident occurred on the same day as the HECO Chain bridge was allegedly drained of $86.6 million due to a compromised blockchain operator.
Notably, HTX experienced a $8 million hack in September, shortly after rebranding from Huobi Global to HTX. During this incident, one of HTX’s digital wallets was hacked, resulting in the theft of 5,000 ETH on September 25, valued at around $8 million at that time. Following the breach, the exchange managed to establish contact with the hacker and claimed to have identified them.
HTX then proposed a deal in which they stated that if the hacker returned 95% of the stolen funds by the deadline of October 2, the exchange would offer a 5% bounty, amounting to approximately $400,000. In return, HTX would refrain from pursuing legal action against the hacker.
Data from Nansen indicates that wallets associated with HTX hold a combined $2.08 billion in user and corporate assets, with the exchange reporting $1.3 billion in spot trading volume within the past 24 hours.
This incident has highlighted the need for a more proactive approach by crypto users to safeguard their funds efficiently so that they don’t succumb to such incidents in the future.
