Bitrue Crypto Exchange Hacked and Assets Worth $23M in ETH, SHIB, MATIC, and Others Stolen

As Bitcoin and Ethereum topped $31k and $2100 respectively earlier on Friday, centralized cryptocurrency exchange Bitrue reported an exploit that affected its hot wallets. According to the company through a series of tweets, the attackers made away with approximately $23 million in several coins including Ether, QNT, GALA, SHIB, HOT, and Polygon (MATIC). 

The crypto exchange announced that the affected hot wallets only held approximately 5 percent of the total funds. Thereby reassuring its customers their funds are safe and secure.

“The rest of our wallets remain secure and have not been compromised,” Bitrue noted.

As a control measure, Bitrue has temporarily suspended all crypto withdrawals until April 18. On the brighter side, the company promised to reimburse all affected individuals in full.

Not the First for Bitrue

The Singapore-based exchange was founded in 2018 and offers over 200 crypto assets for trading. However, this is not the first time the exchange has been compromised. Back in 2019, the exchange reported an exploit on its hot wallet.

However, the exchange was able to freeze some stolen assets through the help of other exchanges.

“The hacker used what they learned from this breach to then access the Bitrue hot wallet and move 9.3 million XRP and 2.5 million ADA to different exchanges,” the exchange noted. 

Crypto Hacks on the Rise

The cryptocurrency market has been affected by several hacks lately. Earlier this week, crypto exchange GDAC said a hacker stole about  $14 million, forcing a two-week operational suspension. DeFi protocol Yearn Finance also reported an exploit that affected $11.6 million. At the beginning of this week, decentralized exchange Sushiswap reported a $3.3 million hack.