Popular cryptocurrency exchange, Poloniex has suffered a $100 million hack. News about the attack first surfaced when a crypto wallet belonging to the exchange recorded a massive outflow of assets. Various blockchain security firms confirmed that the huge outflow is a result of a security breach on the exchange which empowered the attacker to drainmore than $100 million worth of crypto assets.
The founder of the crypto exchange, Justin Sun confirmed the attack via his X (Formerly Twitter) page. While the founder confirmed the attack, he went on to assure users that the exchange is “currently investigating” the attack. He swiftly established that despite the attack, Poloniex still “maintains a healthy financial position.” Also, Justin Sun assured the crypto community that the exchange will reimburse the affected funds.
In his submission, Justin Sun noted that Poloniex is exploring the possibility of partnering with other exchanges to retrieve the stolen funds. Meanwhile, in a separate post on X, Justin Sun offered a 5% white hat bounty to the hacker. He went up to urge the attacker to return the stolen funds within seven (7) days before the exchange informed law enforcement agencies.
As of press time, Poloniex is yet to release an official statement relating to the hack. However, in a bid to curtail the effect of the attack, the crypto exchange has disabled its wallet. The crypto exchange promised to inform users once the wallet is “re-enabled.”
What Blockchain Security Firms are Saying About the Hack on Poloniex
A host of blockchain security firms have offered insights into how the attack transpired. One of the firms, CertiK, submitted that the attack seems to have emanated from a private key breach. Additionally, the firm revealed that the stolen funds have been moved to four (4) externally owned addresses. Also, the firm indicated that a part of the loot has been converted into ETH.
Also, Scopescan is one of the first blockchain analytical platforms to have noticed the attack on Poloniex. In its report, the firm noted how the hacker transferred $60 million from the breached wallet to another address in less than forty (40) minutes. Furthermore, in a separate tweet, the company indicated that the attacker had acquired 206.73 TRX worth $22.8 million with the stolen funds.
Surprisingly, after the hack, TRX, the native token of the TRON network surged by 14% according to Coinmarketcap. The sudden rally of TRX raised questions from community members as some became suspicious about the issue. Before the attack, Poloniex was one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges. The exchange launched in 2014 before Justin Sun acquired it in 2019.