Crypto Exchange AscendEX (Formerly Bitmax) Hacked: $80 Million Allegedly Stolen

AscendEX, a cryptocurrency exchange that recently celebrated its third anniversary, confirmed that numerous tokens were maliciously transferred out of its hot wallet today. While the company has yet to confirm the total amount stolen, early estimates show the funds are worth roughly $ 80 million.

• The company accepted to spot an undisclosed amount of Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Polygon-based tokens that were transferred from its active wallet at the beginning of December 12.
• He promised that he had launched an investigation and that the cold wallets were not affected. Additionally, AscendEX said that all users who have run out of funds will be “fully covered” by the exchange.
• The trading platform did not provide details on which tokens were maliciously withdrawn or what their value is in USD.
• However, blockchain security and data analytics resource PeckShield outlined the estimates later.
• The firm noted that the total loss is approximately $ 78 million, with $ 60 million in Ethereum, $ 9.2 million in BSC, and $ 8.5 million in Polygon. PeckShield also provided a list of the transferred tokens.

Estimated loss @AscendEX_Global: $ 77.7M in total ($ 60M in @ethereum $ 9.2 million @BinanceChain $ 8.5 million @ 0xPolygon). Here is the list of transferred assets and their amounts in @ethereum pic.twitter.com/VC4DKOwu4f

– PeckShield Inc. (@peckshield) December 12, 2021

• This is the second high-level hack against a centralized cryptocurrency exchange since the beginning of December.
• CryptoPotato reported last week that Bitmart was also the victim of a security breach with up to $ 200 million in various cryptocurrencies. The trading venue had temporarily suspended withdrawals, which it resumed days later, and also promised to reimburse users with its own funds.