Skip to main content

Hotbit crypto exchange shuts down for maintenance after attempted hack

The Chinese crypto exchange says funds are “SAFU” and that the emergency maintenance could take up to two weeks.

Cryptocurrency exchange platform Hotbit has shut down all of its services after an attempted cyberattack on Thursday.

“Hotbit just suffered a serious cyber-attack starting around 08:00 PM UTC, April 29, 2021, which led to the paralyzation of a number of some basic services,” a notice on the platform’s website reads.

The hackers were reportedly unsuccessful in gaining access to Hotbit’s wallets but did manage to compromise the platform’s user database. Thus, the Hotbit team has advised customers to disregard any communication from entities claiming to be representatives of the exchange.

With all normal operations currently paused during the ongoing maintenance, Hotbit also revealed that pending trading orders are canceled to prevent losses. Also, the exchange promised to bear any losses stemming from exchange-traded funds listed on its platform during the duration of the maintenance.

According to the Hotbit announcement, the maintenance will last for at least seven days with reports that the investigation and system upgrade could take as long as two weeks.

Addressing users on the exchange’s Telegram group, Alex Zhou, chief security officer of Hotbit, revealed that user funds were unaffected by the attack, stating: “The attacker tried to break into the wallet server to steal funds but the action was identified and blocked successfully by Hotbit risk control system. All users’ funds are safe.”

“At the same time, Hotbit is in the process of transferring all funds in hot wallet to cold wallet, the details of the whole integration could be seen on the chain,” he said.

Source: Etherscan

Indeed, data from Ethereum transaction monitoring tool Etherscan shows multiple token outflows from one of Hotbit’s known wallets to another address that currently holds about $14 million in several altcoins.

However, the length of time given for the maintenance is causing significant unrest among Hotbit users judging by comments on social media and in the platform’s Telegram channel.

Fears over the incident being an exit scam by the Hotbit team are palpable. Earlier in April, two major exchanges in Turkey went offline, with their executives fleeing with millions of dollars in user funds. Both incidents have led to sweeping arrests by law enforcement agencies as well as plans by the government to establish a central custodian bank for cryptocurrency exchanges in Turkey.



from https://ift.tt/2QKlWn5
https://ift.tt/3nytVj6

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Whale clusters suggest that this key Bitcoin level can trigger an explosive rally

Bitcoin whale clusters show $57,046 and $60,045 are the crucial support and resistance levels in the short term. The price of Bitcoin ( BTC ) is attempting to break the $60,000 resistance level after more than a week of ranging. Whale clusters show that $57,046 and $60,045 are the crucial support and resistance areas in the short term.  In other words, the probability of a strong breakout in the foreseeable future would increase substantially if Bitcoin stays above $57,046 and continues to test $60,000 resistance. Why whale clusters are important for Bitcoin Whale clusters form when high-net-worth investors buy or sell Bitcoin at a certain price and do not move their holdings thereafter. As such, a whale cluster support typically serves as a strong macro support area for Bitcoin because whales tend to buy more when BTC falls to a level where they initially bought BTC. On the flip side, a whale cluster resistance area would likely hold up as a sell area because whales are mo...

Allied Payment Partners NYDIG, Adds Bitcoin To Corporate Treasury 

One latest news making rounds in the crypto space is the new partnership between the digital payment platform-Allied Payment Network, and the Bitcoin subsidiary of Stone Ridge, a $10 billion alternative asset manager called NYDIG. Related Reading | GBTC Unlocks Spells Doom For Bitcoin? Top Expert Breaks It Down The latest developments come with the addition of Bitcoin to the former Corporate Treasury. BREAKING: Allied Payment Network, a digital payment provider, has announced they will put bitcoin on their balance sheet. Bitcoin is inevitable. — Pomp 🌪 (@APompliano) July 6, 2021 Allied Payment Network is the industry’s most progressive online and mobile bill payment service provider to banks and credit unions. The Allied Payment Network is seeking to increase its business scope, and market comprehensibility has gone crypto . Following many others, the digital financial platform openly declared its intention to cooperate with NYDIG and at the same time moved to utilize t...

TA: Ethereum Remains Strong, Why ETH Could Rally Above $2.3K

Ethereum is trading in a positive zone above the $2,150 support zone the 100 hourly SMA against the US Dollar. ETH price is likely to rally if there is a clear break above $2,300. Ethereum is trading in a positive zone above the $2,100 and $2,150 support levels. The price is now trading above $2,100 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is a key bullish trend line forming with support near $2,140 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair start a fresh rally above $2,300 as long as it is above the $2,000 support zone. Ethereum Price Is Showing Positive Signs After forming a base above $2,000, ethereum started a steady increase . ETH broke the $2,200 resistance zone and it settled nicely above the 100 hourly simple moving average. The price even spiked above the $2,250 resistance level. However, the price seems to be struggling to gain pace above $2,250, similar to bitcoin . A high is formed near $2,285 and ether is now correcting lower. There was...