KuCoin Hackers Transfer Over $2M Worth of Crypto to Unknown Wallets

Cybercriminals involved in KuCoin’s exchange recent hack have moved another 1,814 ETH ($665,980) to an unknown wallet. Prior to that, the same address transferred 4,000 ETH ($1,469,285) to a different wallet address.

KuCoin hackers stole over $280 mln crypto assets

On September 26, 2020, KuCoin reported a major security breach on its platform. The hack affected its Bitcoin, Ethereum, and ERC-20-compatible hot wallets after private keys were leaked. Approximately, they estimated that a total of $281 million user funds were affected.

Estimated stolen funds include 1,008 BTC along with 14,713 BSV, 26,733 LTC, and 9,588,383 XLM. Furthermore, OMNI and USDT worth $14 million, $152 million worth of ETH and other ERC-20 tokens, and over 18 million XRP also got looted.

Following this, KuCoin has been constantly monitoring the updates of these funds since the hack occurred. Suspects behind the hack have now been identified and are under current investigation.

Out of the embezzled funds amounting to $281 million, $152 million were Ethereum-based tokens including Tether, Chainlink, and Ocean Protocol. These projects are not censorship-resistant which means they have the power to freeze accounts and recover tokens.

Crypto exchanges prevent further damage

Since the attack, crypto exchanges have been working hand-in-hand to prevent cybercriminals from transferring the funds. Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino announced in a tweet that Tether had successfully frozen a total of 22 million USDT tokens (about $22 million). To add on, Ampleforth disabled the transfer of 14.82 AMPL tokens ($10.8 million) from the hackers.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao also pledged to help KuCoin recover any stolen funds.

Zhao adds that Binance will certainly help by,

Freezing deposits that come our way. Help with blockchain analysis, security audits/advices, and even helping connecting with other exchanges, or to law enforcement agencies in different parts of the world.

Meanwhile, Tron founder Justin Sun, who is also an investor in Poloniex exchange, notified users that the said exchange is on high alert for any suspicious transfers.

KuCoin has assured that victims of the hack will have their losses covered by the company’s insurance. As of the moment, the crypto exchange is working with the police and industry experts to further investigate the incident.

Read Also: 1,980 BTC ($22M) Hacked From Electrum Bitcoin Wallet Users