Crypto exchange BingX suffers hacker attack, losses surpass $40m

BingX has temporarily suspended withdrawals following a suspected hacker attack on its hot wallet. Blockchain analysts estimate the loss to exceed $40 million.

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange BingX has suspended withdrawals after detecting a suspected hacker attack on its hot wallet. Blockchain analysts estimate the loss to be in the tens of millions of dollars.

The breach occurred at around 4 a.m. Singapore time on September 20, prompting the company to initiate a “contingency plan,” Vivien Lin, BingX’s chief product officer, said in a September 20 post on X.

At around 4am on September 20, Singapore time, our technical team detected abnormal network access, suspecting a hacker attack on BingX’s hot wallet. We immediately initiated our contingency plan, including immediate transfer of assets and lifting of the suspension. There was a minor loss of assets,…

— Vivien Lin @ BingX (@Vivien_BingX) September 20, 2024

According to Lin, the exchange has moved its assets to safe locations and added that the loss is still being calculated, but assured users that most of the assets are stored in cold wallets that were not affected by the attack. While the full scale of the attack was not disclosed, Lin said there was a “minor loss of assets.”

“There was a small loss of assets but the amount is small and is still being calculated.”

Vivien Lin

However, blockchain forensics firm PeckShield suggested the breach could be more significant, estimating that around $26.68 million worth of assets, including Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Coin (BNB), had already been moved by the hacker. An additional $16.5 million was reportedly withdrawn from the platform shortly after. Analysts traced the stolen funds to two wallet addresses and estimated the total loss at over $43 million.

Lin stressed that BingX will “fully compensate” for any losses using its own capital and expects withdrawals to resume within 24 hours. The company stressed that trading services are operating as usual and user funds remain safe under its tiered asset management system.