CoinEx suffers security breach with more than $27M thought to be compromised CoinEx suffers security breach with more than $27M thought to be compromised
The company's ETH, TRX, MATIC, and XRP addresses have been affected.
2 min read
Updated: Sep. 12, 2023 at 8:24 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
CoinEx has suffered a security breach, according to official reports from Sept. 12.
In a tweet, CoinEx said that it detected a security incident that involved unusual withdrawals from the hot wallets in which it stores exchange funds.
The firm identified unauthorized transactions involving Ethereum (ETH), TRON (TRX), and Polygon (MATIC). Later statements from CoinEx’s international accounts suggest that an XRP address was additionally affected by the incident.
CoinEx said that it has not yet determined the value of its losses but described the affected amount as “a very small portion” of its assets. It wrote in the tweet:
“We assure all users: your assets are secure and untouched. Affected parties will receive 100% compensation for any loss due to this breach. For added security, deposit & withdrawal services are temporarily suspended and will resume after a thorough review.”
Third-party security firm estimates $27M loss
Cyvers Alerts, an independent security firm, initially discovered the incident. Deddy Lavid, CEO of Cyvers Alerts, said that his firm made “significant efforts to contact all company executives.” He implied that CoinEx did not respond, as he urged the exchange to contact his firm for further information on the threat.
Cyvers Alerts estimated that the attack involved about $27 million in cryptocurrency. That total includes $18.12 million of ETH, $8.5 million of TRX, and $291,000 of MATIC. Numerous other ERC-20 total are included in that total.
Cyvers suggested that the company may have accidentally leaked address private keys or allowed for access control violations. Alternately, it suggested that deliberate wrongdoing such as a “rug pull” or inside job may have caused the incident.
The incident is significant as CoinEx is a moderately sized exchange; it handled $29.7 million in trading volume over a 24-hour period ending Sept. 12. The company was also noted for its decision to exit the U.S. market in February due to changing U.S. regulations and after it drew scrutiny from regulators in New York State.
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Mike Dalton
Before transitioning to crypto writing in 2018, Mike studied library and information sciences. Currently, he resides on Canada's West Coast.
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