Key takeaways :
- Poloniex exchange grapples with a $100 million digital asset exploit, signaling a significant breach in its security.
- Poloniex’s owner, Justin Sun, joins forces with fellow crypto exchanges to reclaim the stolen funds
A tragic incident unfolded on Thursday, as Justin Sun’s cryptocurrency exchange, Poloniex, suffered a devastating hack, resulting in the loss of over $100 million worth of cryptocurrencies.
The hacker’s loot included not only highly liquid assets like USDT, bitcoin, ether, and USDC but also less popular tokens. Initial estimates pegged the losses at around $60 million, but the actual figure later surpassed $100 million.
According to CertiK, a blockchain security firm, the breach likely stemmed from a “private key compromise.” The stolen funds were swiftly funneled into four externally owned accounts, with some being converted into Ether. The suspicious transactions were initially flagged by Peckshield, another blockchain security company.
Etherscan revealed a series of transfers from the “Poloniex 4” wallet to the hacker’s wallet, encompassing various assets, including ETH, TRON, stablecoins like USDT and TUSD, and even meme coins like PEPE, FLOKI, and SHIB.
The impact of the hack extended beyond the Ethereum blockchain. Additional data from Arkham Intelligence unveiled that the hacker pilfered over 288 million TRX, Tron’s native token, and 865 Bitcoin, bringing the total loss to over $126 million. ‘
Justin Sun, the majority shareholder of Poloniex, assured the public of the exchange’s financial stability and committed to fully reimbursing the affected assets.
What initially seemed like a $33 million loss escalated to over $120 million across multiple blockchain networks, as PeckShield’s investigation revealed.
In a surprising move, Sun extended an olive branch to the hackers, offering a 5% bounty if they returned a substantial portion of the stolen funds within seven days. He emphasized the importance of a peaceful resolution, stating, “We are currently investigating the Poloniex hack incident. 
Poloniex maintains a healthy financial position and will fully reimburse the affected funds.” The unfolding events around the Poloniex hack continue to captivate the crypto world, highlighting the ever-present risks in the digital asset space.
