BingX’s Reported ‘Minor’ Loss from Suspected Hack Increases to $52M

Singapore-based cryptocurrency platform BingX has reported that losses from a suspected cyberattack on September 20 have escalated to over $52 million, doubling the initially estimated $26 million.

Earlier disclosures by blockchain security firm PeckShield had identified a single Ethereum wallet associated with the breach, which had received $26.7 million in assets from BingX. However, subsequent investigations uncovered significant impacts across various blockchain networks, leading to the revised total loss figure.

Hakan Unal, the senior security operations lead at Cyvers Alerts, explained, “As more wallets are identified, the total loss grows. Initial estimates, like $13 million, were likely incomplete, but updates from forensics firms, now reporting figures like $43 million, show a clearer picture.” He added, “Our threat intelligence system has summed the total loss across all chains, leading to a more comprehensive estimate of $52 million.”

Despite the substantial loss, BingX has characterized the incident as resulting in only “minor” damages. Vivien Lin, BingX’s Chief Product Officer, stated in a statement, “All user losses from this hack will be fully covered by BingX’s own capital.” Lin also mentioned that security partners had successfully frozen approximately $1 million of the stolen funds at the time of the statement. BingX is currently in the process of finalizing the total extent of the losses.

BingX’s incident occurs amid a surge in hacks targeting Asian crypto exchanges. Just days earlier, Indonesian exchange Indodax was breached on September 10, resulting in a loss of $20.58 million. Additionally, Indian exchange WazirX faced a significant security breach on July 18, with losses amounting to $234.9 million. Japan’s DMM Bitcoin experienced the largest attack of 2024 to date, with hackers siphoning off $305 million in assets on May 31.

Security analysts have attributed these widespread attacks to the Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored hacking organization linked to North Korea. The group is believed to be behind the assaults on Indodax, WazirX, and DMM Bitcoin, highlighting a concerning trend of targeted cyber threats against centralized cryptocurrency exchanges in the Asian region.

For more news, find me on Twitter Giannis Andreou and subscribe to My channels Youtube and Rumble

What is your opinion on this particular topic?  Leave us your comment below!  We are always interested in your opinion!