Huobi Global's HTX cryptocurrency exchange fell victim to a hack on September 24, resulting in a total cryptocurrency loss of $7.9 million, as reported by blockchain analytics platform Cyvers.
During the breach, a well-known Huobi hot wallet sent a message in Chinese to the attackers. The message indicated that the exchange had identified the hackers and proposed that they keep 5% of the stolen funds as a "white hat bonus" if they returned the remaining 95%.
At 10 am UTC on September 24, the suspected Huobi hot wallet with the address 0x2Abc22eb9A09EbBE7b41737CCde147F586EfeB6A transferred 4,999 Ethereum coins, which were valued at approximately $7.9 million, to an address with no prior transaction history. The following day, another Huobi wallet sent a message in Chinese to the attacker. Cyvers reported the attack on September 25.
Blockchain analysis platform Arkham Intelligence confirmed that the wallet sending the message was indeed a Huobi hot wallet. According to Cyvers, the wallet from which the message originated is listed as an official Huobi wallet on the exchange's support page.
Justin Sun, an investor in Huobi Global, confirmed the hack on September 25 and revealed that HTX @HTX_Global had suffered a loss of 5,000 Ethereum (equivalent to $8 million) due to the hacker attack. He assured users that their funds were secure and that trading was operating as usual. Sun also stated that HTX had fully absorbed the losses incurred by the attack and successfully resolved all related issues.
In 2023, cryptocurrency exchanges have experienced a series of hacks, with many attributed to the North Korean-affiliated Lazarus Group, which amassed $40 million in Bitcoin over the course of a year through various attacks.
