CoinEx Crypto Exchange Hacked: Over $43 Million Stolen

Hong Kong’s cryptocurrency exchange, CoinEx Global, fell victim to a security breach on Tuesday, resulting in a substantial estimated loss of approximately $43 million in various cryptocurrencies.

As the exchange diligently investigates the incident, it has come to light that the breach involved a second set of suspicious wallet addresses.

These addresses were used to siphon off a range of tokens, including Ether, XRP, Solana, Kadena, and Dagger. The situation remains fluid as CoinEx works to determine the full extent of the cryptocurrency assets that have been compromised.

Before CoinEx released its latest update on the situation, the blockchain security firm PeckShield took to X (formerly known as Twitter) on Wednesday to provide their own estimate of the losses, pegging the figure at approximately $43 million.

The initial set of addresses linked to the hack primarily targeted Ether, Bitcoin, and Tron holdings on the platform.

CoinEx was quick to reassure its user community, stating through a notice on its X account that all user assets remained safe and secure despite the breach.

In response to the incident, the exchange has prudently suspended its deposit and withdrawal services temporarily.

Furthermore, they have made a commitment to fully compensate affected users for any losses incurred as a result of this unfortunate security breach.

The broader context reveals a concerning trend in the cryptocurrency world. Hackers managed to steal over US$3.8 billion in cryptocurrencies over the course of the previous year, according to Chainalysis, a blockchain forensics firm.

Among these staggering figures, it is noteworthy that cyber actors affiliated with North Korea were responsible for hacking approximately $1.7 billion, emphasizing the critical importance of robust security measures in the digital asset space.