Photo credit: DC Studio/Freepik

Hackers have once again emerged from the shadows, launching attacks on new victims — this time targeting a global centralized crypto exchange.

BingX, a cryptocurrency exchange, was recently hacked, resulting in the outflow of funds from the Ethereum and BNB chains, with losses amounting to $52 million and rising. 

It was PeckShieldAlert who raised the alarm initially, alerting the crypto community as well as the centralized crypto exchange. The first post-mortem after the attack revealed the hacker had escaped with $26.68 million worth of cryptos. 

After the attack, the hacker immediately swapped almost all of the crypto assets for 4,526 Ether (ETH) and 7,864.7 Binance Coin (BNB). Apart from the Ethereum and BNB Chain, other networks such as Base, OP, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Avalanche.

After some time, Cyvers Alert, a blockchain security firm, informed the crypto community that losses from the BingX hack had exceeded $52 million.

Surprisingly, BingX initially claimed there would be “temporary maintenance” on the wallet, without providing much information about the reason. 

However, after their technical team conducted an investigation, BingX finally revealed that abnormal access had been detected and that the attack was focused on BingX’s hot wallet. Addressing the crypto community, BingX’s Chief Product Officer Vivien Lin, claimed: 

“We immediately started our emergency plan, including the urgent transfer of assets and withdraw suspension. There has been minor asset loss, but the amount is small and still being calculated.”

Despite the losses exceeding $52 million, Lin further stated that the total loss is “minimal” and "manageable." She also mentioned that BingX will fully compensate for the loss with their own capital. 

It remains to be seen whether regulators will take action against these recent hacks.