November has seen a surge in hacks targeting cryptocurrency platforms and bridges, with over $290 million worth of digital assets stolen in just 20 days according to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain.
Kronos Research Loses $25.65 Million On November 23rd, decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Kronos Research was attacked, resulting in the loss of $25.65 million in funds. As Lookonchain reported, this included 24.57 million USDT, 488.7 ETH worth $959,000, and 125,056 USDC. The hacker swiftly moved the funds through various wallets and exchanges in an attempt to cover their tracks.
Major Heist Hits KyberSwap Just days prior, on November 19th, another DeFi platform KyberSwap suffered an exploit with over $46.5 million drained from the protocol. As documented by Lookonchain, assets stolen included 10,049 WETH ($20.78 million), 4,017 wstETH ($9.53 million), and 3.98 million ARB ($4.1 million). The hacker deposited some of the illicit funds to Aave and provided liquidity on Uniswap.
Poloniex Implicated in $118 Million Hack On November 10th, cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex was impacted by a hack resulting in $118 million in stolen assets across Ethereum and Tron networks. This hack netted the thief 32.7 million USDT, 443 BTC worth $16.5 million, and other sizable amounts of ETH, USDC, SHIB, and other coins according to Lookonchain’s reporting.
The HECO chain’s bridge, an interoperability protocol connecting HECO to Ethereum, was exploited for $86.6 million on November 22nd. PeckShield’s initial analysis suggested this incident involved a compromised operator account that had been active since October 8th, 2022.
HTX Exchange Suffers $13.6 Million Breach On the same day as the HECO exploit, November 22nd, cryptocurrency exchange HTX Global was breached resulting in $13.6 million in stolen funds. Blockchain security firm Cyvers Alerts identified several impacted exchange wallets containing assets like KOK and ARIX. However, the hacker appeared to forget to drain $1.15 million worth of ARIX from one wallet.
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The month of November has seen hackers relentlessly targeting vulnerabilities in cryptocurrency apps and protocols, making off with incredible sums in virtual assets spaning hundreds of millions of dollars. As the industry continues to grapple with security, analysts expect exploits to remain a threat moving forward.
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