Various blockchain watchers noticed suspicious transfers from a hot wallet known to belong to the CoinEx cryptocurrency exchange. CoinEx later confirmed a “security incident” involving “unauthorized transactions”. They wrote that the “precise amount of the loss is still being determined”, but tried to reassure customers that it was “just a very small portion of CoinEx’s total asset[s]”. Independent blockchain observers have estimated the losses at at least $55 million in various assets, including the ETH, Tron, and Polygon (MATIC) tokens. They have also suggested that the thieves appear to be a part of the North Korean state-sponsored hacking group, Lazarus.
CoinEx is based out of Hong Kong, and was recently forced to stop serving US customers as part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General which also required them to pay a $1.7 million fine.
