BingX, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, has been the target of a significant cyberattack, with losses estimated to exceed $52 million. On-chain data reveals that hackers drained funds in two separate tranches, initially taking $26 million before stealing an additional $16.5 million a few hours later.
Blockchain security firm PeckShield identified one Ethereum wallet linked to the hack, receiving $26.7 million in assets from BingX’s hot wallet. As more wallets were identified, the scale of the loss grew, with estimates reaching $43 million. Further investigations by security firm Cyvers Alerts now place the total loss at $52 million, spanning multiple blockchain networks.
According to BingX’s Chief Product Officer (CPO) Vivien Lin, the exchange quickly initiated an emergency response following the breach, which occurred around 4 a.m. local time. Most of BingX’s assets were stored in cold wallets, leaving only a “minor” portion exposed to the hack. However, on-chain data suggests that among the stolen assets were $13.25 million in Ether, $2.3 million in Binance Coin (BNB), and $4.4 million in Tether (USDT), along with over 360 different types of altcoins.
Despite the breach, Lin reassured users that all losses would be fully compensated using the exchange’s own funds:
The total loss is minimal and manageable. This incident will not affect our ongoing business operations. Withdrawals and deposits are temporarily delayed and are expected to be restored within 24 hours.
Blockchain analysts also traced the stolen funds to decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and Kyberswap, where the hackers swapped the assets for Ether and BNB. At the time of reporting, the wallet tied to the attack still holds over 1,000 Ether and additional tokens valued at $5 million.
While BingX continues to downplay the incident, describing it as a “minor asset loss,” the growing estimates of the total damage tell a different story. Experts believe that the actual impact could rise further as more compromised wallets are identified.
The hack on BingX adds to a growing list of crypto exchange breaches in 2024, with over $630 million in crypto losses reported in the first half of the year alone. This incident once again underscores the importance of security within the volatile crypto market.