KuCoin Exchange Hack Results in $150M in Crypto Stolen from Hot Wallet

The incident once again highlights the vulnerabilities of hot wallet storage. Many of the high-profile exchange hacks in the history of the industry have involved a malicious breach of the platform’s hot wallet storage. The Singapore-based exchange confirmed the news of the breach via an online communique issued on Sept 26. According to the announcement, the platform noticed suspiciously large withdrawals from its hot wallets:

Data from Etherscan shows the wallet associated with the hack currently holding 11,480 ETH worth over $4 million. Crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant also reported a spike in Bitcoin outflow from the exchange which points to back to the same attack

In total, the hackers reportedly stole $150 million in various cryptocurrencies but KuCoin is yet to confirm the extent of the theft. As part of its announcement, the exchange assured users that its insurance fund will provide full coverage for the stolen assets. KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu also revealed that with the hack compromising its hot wallet private keys, the exchange moved untouched funds to another address. Furthermore, Lyu assured users that KuCoin’s cold wallet remains safe and that the breach did not compromise user data. On social media, the consensus is that the KuCoin hack offers yet another example of the danger of keeping funds on crypto exchanges. Earlier in September, the Slovakian exchange platform Eterbase suffered a $5.4 million hack. As previously reported by BeInCrypto, revamped security measures by crypto exchanges resulted in a decrease in the total amount of funds lost to hackers in 2019. In response, hacking syndicates are reportedly devising more sophisticated attack vectors to siphon valuable cryptocurrency assets.