Crypto Exchange Bitrue Suffers $23 Million Hack

Singapore-based crypto exchange Bitrue has lost millions of U.S. dollars’ worth of ether and other coins in a hack. The trading platform suspended withdrawals until early next week to conduct additional security checks and promised to compensate the affected users.

Bitrue Exchange Loses Crypto Assets Due to Hot Wallet Exploit

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitrue announced Friday on Twitter it has identified a “brief exploit” in one of its hot wallets. The breach led to the theft of around $23 million in a number of cryptocurrencies, including ether (ETH) and shiba inu (SHIB).

1/4: We have identified a brief exploit in one of our hot wallets on 07:18 (UTC), 14 April 2023. We were able to address this matter quickly and prevented the further exploit of funds. We take this matter seriously and are currently investigating the situation. pic.twitter.com/QioPHSB2DM
— Bitrue (@BitrueOfficial) April 14, 2023

The platform’s team said it was able to prevent further transfers of funds and assured the matter is being investigated. “The affected hot wallet only holds less than 5% of our overall funds. The rest of our wallets remain secure and have not been compromised,” Bitrue pointed out.

In a follow-up tweet, the exchange informed customers it has temporarily suspended withdrawals, which will be restored on Tuesday, April 18. “All identified users who are affected by this incident will be compensated in full,” Bitrue promised.

“We are committed to maintaining transparency throughout this process, and thank you for your continued support,” the Singapore-headquartered company added, assuring it’s taking the hacking attack seriously.

The Bitrue hack is the second major case of this kind since the start of the month. South Korean crypto exchange GDAC announced the loss of more than $13 million when hackers took control of some of its hot wallets on April 9. And in March, over $1.5 million in bitcoin were stolen from crypto ATM manufacturer General Bytes.

This is not the first time Bitrue has suffered a security breach. In July 2019, the exchange lost around $4.7 million in XRP and ADA. At the time, the perpetrators exploited a vulnerability that allowed them to compromise the accounts of dozens of users.

Tags in this story

Bitrue, Breach, Crypto, crypto exchange, Cryptocurrencies, Cryptocurrency, Cryptocurrency Exchange, ETH, ether, Exchange, Exploit, Hack, Hacker, Hackers, hacking attack, Hacks, incident, Security, shib, shiba inu, Singapore, Theft, Withdrawals

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Lubomir Tassev

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.