In a shocking turn of events, Poloniex, one of the earliest players in the crypto exchange realm, is reported to have fallen victim to a hacking incident. Preliminary figures suggest that the purloined assets from the exchange amount to approximately $114 million.
The Hack and its Aftermath
Among the owners of Poloniex is TRON founder Justin Sun, and the exchange has recently become the target of a malicious attack. The stolen sum is estimated at around $114 million, with the perpetrators transferring a portion of the cryptocurrencies to the Tornado Cash mixer platform.
CertiK, a blockchain security firm, indicated that there have been asset outflows from a total of four hot wallets. However, Poloniex responded with a somewhat dubious statement, attributing the suspension of wallets to maintenance reasons.
Hacker Engaging in TRX Transactions
The hackers, after dispatching certain cryptocurrencies to Tornado Cash, also exchanged a part of the funds for TRON (TRX). Following the hack, TRX witnessed an uptick of over 10% in its price. The loot includes $32 million in USDT, 443 Bitcoins (worth $16.5 million), 6,100 Ether (equivalent to $12.7 million), $6.75 million in USDC, 577 billion SHIB tokens ($4.7 million), 25.5 trillion ELON tokens ($4.15 million), and various other altcoins.
Justin Sun’s Admission
Justin Sun, acknowledged the attack via his official account, assuring users that there are no financial issues with Poloniex. Furthermore, he pledged compensation for affected users and expressed a willingness to collaborate with other exchanges to recover losses.
Moreover, Sun offered a 5% reward to incentivize the hacker to return the stolen funds. He tweeted, “We are considering a 5% reward for the Poloniex hacker. Please return the stolen cryptocurrencies to ETH/TRX/BTC addresses. We give you 7 days to consider our offer. Otherwise, we will contact law enforcement.”
Community-Led Initiatives
In response to the security breach, the crypto data tracking platform Arkham announced a fund to facilitate the identification of the hacker(s). Also, rewards will be offered to individuals providing information that leads to the identification of the assailant(s). As the investigation unfolds, the crypto community closely watches the developments, emphasizing the importance of swift action and cooperation among exchanges to mitigate the impact of such incidents.
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