HTX Global Hacked for $7.9 Million, Offers Bounty to Attacker

HTX Global, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, has been hacked and lost $7.9 million worth of crypto. The exchange claims to know the identity of the hacker and has offered a 5% bounty to return the funds.

According to blockchain analytics platforms Cyvers and Arkham Intelligence, the hack occurred on Sept. 24, when a suspected Huobi hot wallet sent 4,999 Ether (ETH) to an unknown address. 

🚨Red Code🚨Yesterday, our ML-powered system detected a suspicious transaction involving @HuobiGlobal and @HTX_Global.
Despite our attempts to reach out, we received no response. An EOA received 5K $ETH $7.9M from @HuobiGlobal's hot wallet.

🔍 This morning, we spotted… pic.twitter.com/3oqHhAVi8P

— 🚨 Cyvers Alerts 🚨 (@CyversAlerts) September 25, 2023

HTX Global Attempted to Contact the Attacker

The following day, another Huobi wallet sent a message to the hacker in Chinese, stating that the exchange had confirmed their true identity and offered them a 5% white-hat bonus if they returned the remaining 95% of the funds by Oct. 2, 2023. Otherwise, the exchange would seek legal action.

The hacker has not responded to the message or returned any funds as of press time. The origin and destination of the funds are still under investigation. Some reports suggest that the hacker may be linked to the recent Mixin Network hack, which involved transfers to Huobi and Binance.

Huobi staff said that the hack was detected yesterday and that they took immediate action to protect users’ assets. They also said that the exchange’s security system was not compromised and that the hack was an isolated incident.

Huobi has not disclosed how the hacker managed to access the hot wallet or whether any users were affected by the breach. Justin Sun posted on X, that it will be covering all the losses from the attack.

HTX @HTX_Global has suffered a loss of 5,000 #Eth ($8 million USD) due to a hacker attack. HTX has fully covered the losses incurred from the attack and has successfully resolved all related issues. All user assets are #SAFU and the platform is operating completely normally.

— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) September 25, 2023

Huobi Global is the fourth-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, according to CoinMarketCap. It recently rebranded from Huobi Token (HT) to Huobi Token eXchange (HTX). The exchange has been operating since 2013 and has offices in Singapore, China, Japan, Korea, and the United States. It offers trading services for over 400 cryptocurrencies and supports over 60 fiat currencies.

The hack of HTX Global is another reminder of the risks and challenges facing the crypto industry. Users are advised to exercise caution and use secure wallets and platforms to store and trade their digital assets.