BtcTurk Hack Results in Major Loss of Assets From Hot Wallets
By: Eliza Bennet
Turkish cryptocurrency exchange BtcTurk recently faced a significant setback as a major cyberattack led to the disappearance of approximately $48 million in digital assets from its hot wallets. The incident, which transpired on August 14, has brought to light the vulnerabilities of centralized platforms once again.
Blockchain security firm Cyvers disclosed the breach, indicating that sophisticated movements of funds were detected across several networks such as Ethereum, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Mantle, and Polygon. The stolen assets seem to have been collected into two primary addresses, where the perpetrators have initiated conversion activities. In response to the breach, BtcTurk has temporarily suspended cryptocurrency deposit and withdrawal services, while ensuring customers that trading and local currency (Turkish Lira) transactions continue without interruption. The company confirmed that all user funds are preserved safely, mostly in cold storage, mitigating the immediate risk to customer holdings.
BtcTurk, recognized as one of Turkey's largest cryptocurrency exchanges with over five million users, has conveyed their ongoing cooperation with cybersecurity firms and legal authorities to promptly address and rectify the situation. This recent attack bears semblance to a previous cybersecurity breach suffered by BtcTurk the prior year, which resulted in a loss exceeding $55 million.
The recent incident at BtcTurk underscores a recurring threat landscape confronting centralized exchanges, highlighted by earlier attacks on other major platforms this year. Bybit, for instance, faced a substantial loss of Ethereum tokens estimated at $1.5 billion in a similar breach, while India-based CoinDCX was compromised with a theft of around $44 million. These reoccurring breaches emphasize the critical importance of robust security measures within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, as attackers continue to exploit vulnerabilities in centralized digital asset platforms.
