The AscendEX crypto trading platform suffered a loss of $ 77.7 million from a hot wallet compromise that allowed hackers to access and transfer tokens hosted on Ethereum (ETH), Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and Polygon (POLY) blockchains.
Soon after the realization, AscendEX is proactive 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 discovered a number of ERC-20, BSC, and Polygon tokens transferred from our hot wallet. Cold wallet is NOT affected. Investigations are ongoing. If any user’s funds are involved in the incident, they will be fully covered by AscendEX.
– AscendEX (@AscendEX_Global) December 12, 2021
Around $ 60 million worth of tokens were transferred over the Ethereum blockchain, according to PeckShield, a blockchain security and data analytics company. The tokens stolen from the Binance Smart Chain and Polygon are valued at $ 9.2 million and $ 8.5 million, respectively, as proven by EtherScan Data.
Estimated loss @AscendEX_Global: $ 77.7 million total ($ 60 million on @Ether $ 9.2 million @BinanceChain $ 8.5 million @ 0xPolygon). Here is the list of assets transferred and their amount based on @Ether pic.twitter.com/VC4DKOwu4f
– PeckShield Inc. (@peckshield) December 12, 2021
Popular tokens stolen in this hack include USD coins (USDC), Tether (USDT) and Shiba Inu (SHIB). However, AscendEX has yet to officially confirm the exact value of the tokens stolen by the hackers.
The company also announced that it would help affected users by covering up their losses as a result of this attack.
Related: Bitmart to Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain Exploit Hacked for $ 200 Million
Just last week, on December 5th, a similar attack on the BitMart crypto exchange resulted in a loss of nearly $ 200 million due to a hot wallet compromise hosted over the Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain blockchains.
As reported by Cointelegraph, the hack was a simple case of transfer-out, swap, and wash:
Transfer of stolen tokens to Bitmart. Source: PeckShield
While BitMart CEO Sheldon Xia confirmed the losses via Twitter, he announced a temporary halt to all withdrawals and deposits while further investigations were ongoing.
The deposit and withdrawal function of all tokens will be resumed step by step, along with the restoration progress of the security tests and the development of the public chain. Don’t worry, we are marching forward, safety will always come first.
– Sheldon Xia (@sheldonbitmart) December 8, 2021
