Key Takeaways:
BtcTurk, a leading cryptocurrency exchange in Turkey, announced it fell victim to a security breach on Saturday where several of its hot wallets were accessed and funds were stolen from some of them.
Hackers Steal Crypto from 10 Hot Wallets Managed by Turkish Exchange BtcTurk
In a status update, BtcTurk wrote that its security team detected a hack on the platform on June 22nd. The exchange claims that only some balances in the hot wallets of 10 cryptocurrencies were stolen in the cyberattack.
“Our cold wallets, where most of the assets are kept, are safe”, BtcTurk reported.
While there is some level of asset loss, the crypto trading platform claims it is stable enough to overcome this setback financially. It has assured users of the safety of their holdings. BtcTurk also contacted relevant authorities and is currently carrying out a detailed investigation.
Funds Worth $54 Million Believed to be Stolen, Binance Freezes $5.3 Million Moved Through Its Platform
The total amount lost in the attack was not disclosed, but one analyst believes the figure could be nearly $54.5 million.
As a precaution, the exchange temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals. It has since reopened some ERC-20 channels. The blockchains subject to the hack will be reopened after the security team has completed their work.
Meanwhile, Binance CEO Richard Teng wrote in an X post that his company is helping BtcTurk with investigations and has already frozen over $5.3 million in stolen funds. He added that Binance’s investigations and security teams “work around the clock” as part of a proactive effort to protect the ecosystem from bad actors.
ZachXBT Speculates the Hack to Have Occurred on BtcTurk’s Avalanche Wallets
Meanwhile, on-chain sleuth ZachXBT shed some light on who may be behind the attack. On Saturday, Avalanche (AVAX) experienced a flash crash that saw its value plummet by 10%, with seemingly no news causing it.
He was closely watching an X-chain address moving 1.96 million AVAX, worth $54.2 million, and transferring the funds to Coinbase, Binance, and THORChain (RUNE). On June 22nd, the same address withdrew more than $46 million worth of BTC from Coinbase and Binance after depositing the AVAX.
ZachXBT speculates the same group hacked BtcTurk and believes the exchange’s hot wallets on X-Chain were the ones exploited. In the X thread, he shared a post made on Medium three years ago where a hacking group threatened they had the AVAX market address of a Turkish crypto exchange.
BtcTurk has neither confirmed nor denied this theory. But all operations on the exchange have been stopped until further notice.
Japanese Exchange DMM Bitcoin Suffers Biggest Exploit of the Year, Losing 4,502 BTC
This is the second hack carried out on a crypto trading platform this year. Last month, Japanese exchange DMM Bitcoin reported a loss of $305 million in Bitcoin due to a security breach.
Local media reported that the exchange detected unauthorized access into its BTC wallet, resulting in 4,502.9 BTC stolen. In response to the attack, DMM Bitcoin suspended new account openings, withdrawals, spot trading buy orders, and new open positions for leveraged trading.
The exchange released a statement guaranteeing customers their entire BTC balances deposited on its platform. Japanese law mandates that customer assets be held separately from company assets, ensuring additional protection.
Hacks that occur on centralized crypto exchanges draw much attention due to their custodial nature, which allows them to keep hold of private keys to customers’ wallets on the platform. These exchanges also hold significantly larger funds than their decentralized finance (DeFi) counterparts, mainly due to their convenience to users.
For reference, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has 13 times the daily transaction volume of Uniswap, the largest decentralized crypto trading platform.
Turkey is one of the Leading Countries When it Comes to Crypto Ownership
Cryptocurrencies are widely popular in Turkey. The country is the third-leading country by crypto ownership, with an estimated 19.3% of its population owning digital currencies. Only the UAE at 25.3% and Singapore at 24.3% are ahead of the Turks.
Turkey is also the fourth-largest crypto trading country in the world. The use of cryptocurrencies increased rapidly following the astronomical collapse of the Turkish lira in 2020.
Read more: X’s Payment Service Will Not Support Cryptocurrencies At Launch.
