HTX and Heco Lose $115M In Exploit

Heco Chain and HTX, two crypto platforms associated with Justin Sun, have lost around $115 million in a high-profile exploit, CNBC wrote. HTX is a crypto exchange previously known as Huobi. It was the smaller victim, losing crypto worth around $30 million.

CryptoQuant, a market analytics company, reported that Heco Chain fared worse. The platform lost crypto worth $85.4 million. The amount was mainly denominated in the stablecoin Tether (USDT) and ether.

Different networks are linked by a blockchain bridge, which enables fast exchange and movement of various cryptocurrencies. Blockchains are known to be vulnerable to hacking despite all measures being taken. HTX lost a great deal of HBTC, its native token, as well.

“Urgent” measures have been implemented

HTX announced that it was working on identifying the source of the attack and had taken urgent measures to protect users’ assets. It has temporarily halted deposit and withdrawal services on Heco Chain and HTX as a safety measure.

Users will be compensated

HTX added it would compensate all users who lost money in the hot wallet attack. A hot wallet is a cryptocurrency wallet which is connected to the internet.

According to CryptoQuant data, the hackers moved around 11,100 ether tokens in the hours immediately after the attack yesterday morning. This amount is equivalent to crypto worth around $23 million and reflects cybercriminals stealing the digital coins. It also includes several HTX customers who were trying to get their money from the exchange.

Hackers are switching assets into the more liquid either

According to CryptoQuant analyst Bradley Park, who talked to CNBC, the criminals are exchanging their stolen assets for ether, which is more liquid. Stablecoins can be frozen.

This cyberattack follows the hack of Poloniex earlier this month, in which the exchange lost $100 million worth of crypto. Sun backs Poloniex as well.