Singapore’s Exchange BingX Loses Over $50m to Hackers
BingX claimed that it suffered a 'minor' cyberattack that resulted in the losses of over $50 million
BingX, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, has become the latest victim of the cyberattack that ravaged several exchanges this year.
Bing X suffered a “minor” cyberattack around 4AM Singapore time, losing over $52 million from its hot wallet. Cyvers, a security firm, tweeted:
”🚨ALERT🚨Our system has flagged multiple suspicious transactions linked to @BingXOfficial across several blockchains.
Estimated losses have now exceeded $52M, with most of the stolen assets currently being swapped. Affected chains include #ETH, #BNB, #BASE, #OP, #POLYGON, #ARB, and #Avalanche.”
Nonetheless, earlier reports estimated the total loss to be about $26.7m but further investigations from forensic firms revealed substantial damages across multiple blockchain networks.
According to Hakan Unal, Senior Security Operations Lead at Cyvers, the Lazarus group are the most likely prepatratetors of the attack. Stating that the attacker’s rapid asset-swapping moves show similarities to the techniques of North Korea-backed malicious actors.
BingX’s Response
BingX swiftly activated emergency protocols, including suspending withdrawals and deposits on the app and transferring assets to cold wallets for protection.
Vivien Lin, Chief Product Officer at BingX, assured users on X of the safety of their cryptocurrencies stating that BingX’s layered management system architecture ensures the safety of their assets. Additionally, Lin confirmed that the exchange would fully compensate for any losses resulting from the hack using its capital.
“BingX and the development team apologize for the disruption. Our mission to provide a seamless and trusted trading environment remains firm. We are working on a compensation plan, which will be announced soon. Thank you for your understanding and continued support.” She concluded
CEX Hacks on the Rise
BingX’s hack is part of a growing wave of cyberattacks targeting centralized cryptocurrency exchanges (CEXs) across Asia.
Indonesian exchange Indodax suffered a $20.58 million hack on Sept. 10. The list continues as Indian exchange WazirX was the victim in a major breach, losing $234.9 million on July 18.
Nonetheless, on May 31, Japan’s DMM Bitcoin experienced the largest attack of 2024, with hackers stealing $305 million in assets.
Security experts have blamed North Korea’s Lazarus Group as the cause of these attacks, with over $3 billion in digital assets reportedly stolen by the group over the past seven years.
