Originally published on: September 20, 2024
Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange BingX is reeling from a suspected hack that has resulted in an estimated loss of over $52 million. This figure has doubled from the initial report of $26 million, according to sources.
The security breach was first identified by blockchain security firm PeckShield, which pointed to an Ethereum wallet that received $26.7 million in assets from BingX. Further investigations into the matter have unveiled significant damages across multiple blockchain networks, leading to the revised estimate.
Hakan Unal, senior security operations lead at Cyvers Alerts, shed light on the situation, stating, “As more wallets are identified, the total loss grows. Initial estimates were incomplete, but updates from forensics firms portray a clearer picture, with figures now reaching $43 million.”
According to Cyvers Alerts, the total loss across all chains amounts to $52 million, though Beosin has provided a lower estimate of $45 million stolen across three funding lines.
Despite the magnitude of the breach, BingX has downplayed the incident, referring to it as causing only “minor” losses. Product chief Vivien Lin assured users that all losses from the hack would be covered by BingX’s own capital and that security firms had assisted in freezing around $1 million of the stolen funds.
This cyberattack on BingX is not an isolated incident, as a slew of centralized cryptocurrency exchanges in Asia have recently fallen victim to similar breaches. From the Indonesian exchange Indodax to India’s WazirX and Japan’s DMM Bitcoin, the region has seen a rise in such attacks.
Security experts have linked these hacks to North Korea’s state-backed Lazarus Group, highlighting the growing threat of cybercrime in the cryptocurrency space. As BingX works towards assessing its total losses and securing its platform against future attacks, the industry remains on high alert for potential security threats.
