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Bitcoin

Justin Sun said he expects functionality for other cryptocurrencies to gradually be reinstated with full services returning by next week.

Bitcoin (BTC) deposits and withdrawals have returned to the Justin Sun-linked crypto exchange HTX, formerly Huobi, after it suffered a $30 million exploit on Nov. 22.

In a Nov. 26 blog post, HTX said deposit and withdrawal functionality is back for multiple currencies, including BTC, Ether (ETH), Tron (TRX) and Tether (USDT).

In a later post on X (Twitter), Justin Sun said HTX aims to gradually bring back functionality to the remaining cryptocurrencies, which he expects to be done “by next week.”

The majority of the work has been accomplished, and we aim to restore the remaining currencies gradually in the next few days, with all work expected to be completed by next week.
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) November 26, 2023

HTX’s exchange hot wallets were drained of $30 million and was one of the four hacks in half as many months on Sun-linked or controlled crypto platforms.

The HTX Eco (HECO) Chain bridge — consisting of HTX, Tron and BitTorrent, all linked to or controlled by Sun — was attacked for $86.6 million on the same day as HTX.

The Sun-owned crypto exchange Poloniex also suffered a $100 million attack on Nov. 10, which blockchain security firm CertiK said was likely due to a private key compromise.

On Sept. 24, shortly after Huobi was rebranded to HTX, an attacker stole nearly $8 million in crypto from the exchange’s hot wallet.

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November 25, 2023 The Daily Hodl

HTX to restore services ‘within 24 hours’ after $13.6M hack

November 23, 2023 Coin Telegraph

<div>HTX to restore services 'within 24 hours' after .6M hack</div>

Coin Telegraph

"Huobi HTX has now properly handled this attack," the crypto exchange stated.

Crypto exchange HTX, formerly Huobi Global, will resume deposits and withdrawals within 24 hours after suffering a $13.6 million exploit on Nov. 22.

According to its official announcement, the exchange promised to "fully compensate for the losses caused by this attack and 100% guarantee the safety of user funds." In addition, developers wrote, "the amount of funds lost by Huobi HTX this time accounts for a very small amount of the total funds of the platform," noting that the "normal operations" of HTX were not affected by the incident.

The day prior, Huobi suffered a $13.6 million hack to its exchange hot wallets as part of an orchestrated $86.6 million attack against the HTX Eco (HECO) Chain bridge, consisting of HTX, Tron (TRX), and BitTorrent (BTT). All three entities are linked or de-facto controlled by Chinese blockchain entrepreneur Justin Sun.

Like previous incidents, HTX stated that "protecting user assets and information security is our highest responsibility, and we will take all necessary measures to prevent such incidents from happening again." Over the past two months, HTX and Justin Sun-linked entities have been hacked four times. The largest was the $100 million Poloniex exploit on Nov. 10 caused by an apparent private key compromise.

Sun has since stated, "We are investigating the specific reasons for the hacker attack. Once we complete the investigation and identify the cause, we will resume services." A $10 million white hat bounty for the return of stolen funds in the $100 million Poloniex exploit remains open at the time of publication.

HTX exchange loses $13.6M in hot wallet hack: Report

November 22, 2023 Coin Telegraph

HTX exchange loses .6M in hot wallet hack: Report

Coin Telegraph

The incident affected the greater HTX, Tron, and BitTorent ecosystem.

HTX, formerly Huobi Global, suffered an estimated loss of $13.6 million as part of the $86.6 million HECO Chain bridge exploit on Nov. 22.

According to a report by blockchain security firm Cyvers, the losses stem from three compromised hot wallets with users and exchange assets swapped for Ether and distributed to various Ethereum addresses thereafter. Among other coins and tokens, Cyvers says that 1,240 Ether (ETH), 7.3 million Tether (USDT), 1.78 million USD Coin (USDC), and 62,200 Chainlink (LINK) were drained during the attack.

Justin Sun, de-facto owner of HTX and founder of Tron and BitTorrent, both related entities, stated shortly after the exploit that "HTX Will Fully Compensate for HTX's hot wallet Losses. Deposits and Withdrawals Temporarily Suspended. All Funds in HTX Are Secure, and the Community Can Rest Assured."

Earlier in the day, the HECO Chain bridge, a cross-chain bridge created via the merging of the Tron and BitTorrent ecosystem in 2020, was drained of $86.6 million due to an allegedly compromised blockchain operator.

In September, HTX was hacked for $8 million in another hot wallet exploit. At the time, Sun also claimed that "all user assets are SAFU and the platform is operating completely normally." The hack took place less than one month after its rebranding from Huobi Global to HTX, as announced during Token2049 in Singapore.

Data from Nansen show that wallets identified as belonging to HTX hold a combined $2.08 billion in user and corporate assets. Within the past 24 hours, the exchange had $1.3 billion in spot trading volume.

HTX and Heco Cross-Chain Bridge Undergo Hacker Attack. HTX Will Fully Compensate for HTX's hot wallet Losses. Deposits and Withdrawals Temporarily Suspended. All Funds in HTX Are Secure, and the Community Can Rest Assured. We are investigating the specific reasons for the hacker…
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) November 22, 2023

HTX’s Justin Sun claims record profits despite staff cuts

October 26, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The blockchain personality claims that his exchange recorded a profit of $98 million in Q3 2023.

Chinese blockchain personality Justin Sun, who also serves as the de facto owner of crypto exchange HTX (formerly Huobi Global), claims that the firm posted a profit of $98 million in Q3 2023.

According to the October 26 thread, Sun says that HTX generated a total of $202 million in revenues during the quarter, which was offset by $104 million in expenses, leaving a total profit of $98 million. For Q4 2023, Sun projects that HTX will generate $190 million in revenue, along with $88 million in expenditure, for an estimated profit of $104 million.

"The entire third quarter was a severe quarter for the industry," said Sun, mentioning that the U.S. Federal Reserve's high interest rates led to an industry-wide decline in revenues. "But we still maintained the growth rate of revenue. The overall market recovered in the fourth quarter. We are optimistic about the fourth quarter. The revenue forecast is still relatively conservative," he added.

Looking forward, Sun believes that the nadir of the crypto bull market is nearly over. "In Q4 this year and Q1 next year, the crypto market will usher in spring recovery. We have firm confidence in the continued improvement of overall financial indicators," he wrote.

Despite Sun's outlook, not all has been well with HTX's operations. During the Token2049 event in Singapore last month, Edward Chen, managing director of HTX Ventures, revealed in a panel that the exchange has reduced its staff count from 2,500 early this year to 900. In January, the exchange allegedly crushed an employee revolt after many staff salaries were cut and bonuses removed due to falling revenues.

三季度结束了，三季度实际收入为2.02亿美元，支出为1.04亿美元，盈利为9800万美元，环比增长14%，集团增收降本措施持续见效。四季度预测收入为1.9亿美元，支出8800万美元，盈利为1.04亿美元。 https://t.co/8cBsL4v7vn
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) October 26, 2023

HTX claws back $8M in stolen funds, issues 250 ETH bounty to hacker

October 8, 2023 Coin Telegraph

HTX claws back M in stolen funds, issues 250 ETH bounty to hacker

Coin Telegraph

HTX was drained of 5,000 ETH in late September, and moved swiftly to get the funds back from the hacker.

Huobi Global’s crypto exchange HTX has confirmed the return of the funds stolen by a hacker in late September and issued a 250 Ether (ETH) bounty after resolving the issue.

One of HTX’s hot wallets was drained of 5,000 ETH on Sept. 25, worth roughly $8 million at the time. Shortly after the hack occurred, the firm contacted the hacker and claimed to know their identity.

HTX ultimately offered to pay a 5% bounty worth around $400,000 and to not take any legal action if they returned 95% of the funds before a deadline of Oct. 2.

It looks like the HTX/Huobi hacker has returned the funds (4997 ETH)

0x48bd1179529343c7a970045290fd2b0b1d946f64e17c443a528e24bf7cdbb817 pic.twitter.com/MknehuhM6x
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) October 7, 2023

In an Oct. 7 X post, Huobi Global investor and HTX adviser Justin Sun noted: “The hacker made the right choice. We would like to express our gratitude to everyone in the industry for their help!”

“Strengthening blockchain security and protecting user assets is never an easy task, and we have been working tirelessly! Providing full security for user assets is always our goal to strive for! We are thankful for the continued support of our users and community!” he added.

We have confirmed that the hacker has fully returned all funds, as promised, and we have also paid the hack a white hat bonus of 250 ETH. The hacker made the right choice. We would like to express our gratitude to everyone in the industry for their help! https://t.co/SwY49A25h2
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) October 7, 2023

Hackers have been rampant in the third quarter of 2023. According to a recent report from blockchain security platform Immunefi, there have been 76 hacks on crypto and Web3 projects/firms in Q3 2023, compared to 30 from Q3 2022.

During the same week of the HTX hack, decentralized cross-chain protocol Mixin Network was also exploited for around $200 million after the attackers breached a third-party cloud service provider.

Mixin Network offered a $20 million bug bounty if they returned the funds, however, the feasibility of getting the funds back appears slim.

On Oct. 6, Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, suggested to Bloomberg that North Korean hackers may be behind the Mixin exploit.

“The tradecraft appears to be the same kind of tradecraft we’ve seen from the DPRK previously,” she said.

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