Hackers steal $150 million crypto-exchange from BitMart
BitMart, one of the leading crypto-exchange companies, informs that it lost about $150m (£113m) worth of tokens from its “hot wallets” to hackers. As people are worried about security issues of the firm, BitMart has assured that the hacked portion (Etherum and Binance Smart Chain) only includes a small percentage of BitMart’s assets and other wallets to be secure and unharmed.
BitMart has suspended withdrawals until further notice and is conducting a security review to prevent further disruption. The firm also vowed to make transactions more transparent to lessen harsh aftermaths in the future. The worrying issue here is no one has a clue how a hacker stole money, whether it’s investor’s money or Bitmart’s capital, and whether a company will issue a refund.
The platform is unregulated, and there is no guarantee of customers’ money being returned. Speculating the past issues, there are several instances where users got refunds, some got partial returns, the company went bust, and even hackers returned the money.
This event is not the first time hackers have been prominent in raiding digital currency. Mt Gox was the first victim company to lose 850,000 bitcoins. The company once regarded as the most significant Bitcoin exchanger went bankrupt. The amount of bitcoin lost was more than $500m (£300m) in that specific period. Since then, such digital thefts have been a constant problem for exchanges and investors.
Some such incidents are BitGrail $146m, KuCoin $281m, Coincheck $534m, and Poly Network $610m. Despite frequent breach issues, the security of digital currency is often claimed to be the best. One thing is sure that the current incident will certainly fuel investors regarding the policy and safety of crypto-exchange firms.
An exchange like BitMart is the backbone of cryptocurrency growth. They are websites where investors buy and sell coins and keep their Bitcoins, Etherum, and other digital assets safe. These digital thieves have already stolen £1.6bn worth of cryptocurrency since 2014.
The large-scaled investors generally have their backup plans, but crypto-hacks have mainly influenced small-scaled crypto-holders. These investors typically include taxi drivers, students, homemakers, and other upper-middle-class people. The stress regarding such threats results in anxiety, untimely withdrawal, panic, and stress.
Apart from these, investors have suffered a lot from exit scams and rug pulls. Investigators are still attempting to figure out why the Africrypt exchange was scammed when its founder disappeared. In another event, the Canadian exchange QuadrigaCX wallet still holds a lot of investors’ cryptocurrencies. This situation arose when its founder died in 2019, and reimbursement seems impossible.
The crypto-hackers are very confident in their safe landing. A $600m Poly Network hacker warned every investor back in August via Twitter. The tweet quotes, “We, the hackers, are the armed forces. If you are given weapons and guarding billions from the crowd while being anonymous, will you be a terrorist or the Batman?”
The message is quite chilling and challenging. The outcome of the BitMart hack is yet to be known, but every investor is undoubtedly hoping for more secure exchange platforms.
