Crypto Exchange Liquid Hacked, Loses Millions in Various Currencies

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid is suspending deposits and withdrawals after a security breach resulting in the loss of around an estimated $80 million in digital assets. The platform published the suspected hacker’s addresses and said it’s moving funds to cold storage.

Hacker Hits Japanese Crypto Exchange Liquid

Asian cryptocurrency exchange Liquid Global has confirmed it has been targeted in a hacking attack. In a notice tweeted early on Thursday, the coin trading platform revealed that some of its warm wallets were compromised, adding that it’s currently investigating the incident.

Important Notice:
We are sorry to announce that #LiquidGlobal warm wallets were compromised, we are moving assets into the cold wallet.

We are currently investigating and will provide regular updates. In the meantime deposits and withdrawals will be suspended.

— Liquid Global Official (@Liquid_Global) August 19, 2021

Liquid, which operates under a license from Japan’s Financial Services Agency, informed users it’s suspending deposits and withdrawals and promised further updates. The exchange also said it’s moving crypto assets to cold wallets.

The trading platform later published four addresses, in BTC, ETH, TRX, and XRP, believed to be in the control of the hacker. It did not provide an estimate on the value of the stolen crypto but initial reports have suggested the total amounted to around $80 million in the hours prior to the announcement.

The following assets had been transferred to hacker’s following addresses (Further investigation to come):
BTC: 1Fx1bhbCwp5LU2gHxfRNiSHi1QSHwZLf7q
ETH/EWT: 0x5578840aae68682a9779623fa9e8714802b59946
TRX: TSpcue3bDfZNTP1CutrRrDxRPeEvWhuXbp
XRP: rfapBqj7rUkGju7oHTwBwhEyXgwkEM4yby

— Liquid Global Official (@Liquid_Global) August 19, 2021

In a follow-up tweet, Liquid said it’s working with other cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze and recover the digital funds. Kucoin blacklisted the hacker’s addresses after their publication. Liquid Global also stated:

We will continue to work with the community to take the appropriate actions.

The Japanese platform said it’s continuing to trace the movement of the misappropriated assets, noting that the hacker deposited XRP via another exchange and withdrew BTC to two other addresses. In subsequent updates, Liquid expanded the list of tracked crypto addresses and transactions.

This isn’t the first time Liquid has been compromised. In November 2020, the exchange admitted to a user data leak. In an announcement, the company insisted it had contained the attack, assuring clients that funds were “safe and secure.” It also emphasized it had performed a “comprehensive review” of its infrastructure and promised to further bolster its security.

The news of this latest attack on Liquid comes after decentralized finance (defi) project Poly Network recently lost over $600 million to a hacker. A few days later, the project’s team announced that a large portion of the funds stolen in the Aug. 10 heist had been returned by the perpetrator.

What’s your take on the latest crypto exchange hack? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.