On April 14, Bitrue, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange based in Singapore, suffered a hot wallet exploit that resulted in the withdrawal of various crypto assets worth nearly $23 million. The company temporarily suspended all withdrawals due to the brief exploit of its hot wallet. Bitrue has stated that it expects to resume withdrawals on April 18, 2023, after conducting additional security checks.
Bitrue has pledged to compensate all identified users affected by the incident. The exchange’s executives have promised to conduct a thorough security review and update users as they progress. Bitrue has stressed that it was able to address the matter quickly, which allowed the platform to prevent the further draining of funds. In addition, the company has highlighted that the affected hot wallet only accounted for less than 5% of the exchange’s overall funds, and the rest of their wallets remain secure.
Ether (ETH), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Quant (QNT), Gala (GALA), Holo (HOT), and Polygon (MATIC) were the affected currencies on the exploited hot wallet. Bitrue has been a major player in the cryptocurrency market, trading nearly $2 billion in crypto daily on average, according to data from CoinGecko. The company has been hacked before in 2019, losing almost $5 million in Cardano (ADA) due to a hot wallet hack.
The increasing frequency of decentralized finance (DeFi) hacks over traditional centralized exchanges is a new trend among hackers. According to Chainalysis, in the first three months of 2022, crypto exchange hacks accounted for just 3% of all crypto stolen while 97% was taken from DeFi protocols. Such incidents point towards the need for more stringent security measures in the crypto industry.
In conclusion, Bitrue’s hot wallet exploit reminds us that cryptocurrency exchanges still face the risk of theft and fraudulent activities, highlighting the importance of implementing appropriate security measures. The company’s prompt response in addressing the issue prevented further loss of funds, and its commitment to compensating affected users is a positive step towards restoring users’ trust in the platform. While the crypto industry continues to evolve rapidly, vigilance and thoroughness are necessary to detect and prevent such incidents.
