Cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex has announced plans to resume operations after it suffered a major hack resulting in losses over $100 million.
The exchange announced on Nov 15 that following restoration efforts after the hack, it will begin deposits and withdrawal services assuring users of safety by rolling out new security measures.
🔔 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘅 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 🔔
Dear users,
The wallet restoration efforts have mostly been completed, and Poloniex trading system is operating smoothly.
We are fortifying security through a top-tier audit that is nearing completion. After the audit, we’ll resume full… pic.twitter.com/ICZAdERc8C
— Poloniex Exchange (@Poloniex) November 15, 2023
“In response to your concerns about Poloniex deposit and withdrawal services, we are pleased to announce that the restoration efforts have mostly been completed, and the platform is now operating smoothly.”
Addressing security concerns, the exchange noted that in addition to operational responsibilities, it has hired a top security audit firm to properly assess the level of safety before a go-ahead and to prevent further infamous incidents.
“Currently, they are in the final stages of the security audit and verification processes for Poloniex. Upon completion of the audit, we will promptly resume deposit and withdrawal services on our platform.”
Per the statement, the evaluation and verification are still ongoing and should take several days meaning that activities may not resume until then with the team to notify users of new developments in the future.
Crypto users across social media spaces praised the fast reaction of the team following the hack but advised full caution before launch to avoid a subsequent attack.
Justin Sun, who acquired the exchange in 2019, assured users that all lost funds would be recovered with a pledge of full investigation and transparency.
About the $100 million hack
On Nov 10, blockchain security firm PeckShield flagged multiple transactions out of the exchanges’ wallet resulting in losses estimated above $100 million.
While the main cause remains relatively unknown, several firms point to a compromise of private keys. The hackers deployed several accounts swapping the stolen assets through various transactions.
The exchange quickly reacted by deactivating the wallet and announced a pause on major activities while the investigation commenced. “wallet has been disabled for maintenance. We will update this thread once the wallet has been re-enabled.”
Sun insisted that the firm maintains a healthy financial position and would reimburse every affected user and has begun the recovery process in partnership with other digital asset exchanges.
$8 million represents a relatively small sum in comparison to the $3 billion worth of assets held by our users. It also amounts to just two weeks’ revenue for the HTX platform.
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) September 25, 2023
While the incident sparked negative reactions in the industry, crypto users called for more scrutiny across exchanges, decentralized applications, and networks.
Sun also announced a 5% white hat bounty to the hacker with a seven-day window to return stolen assets before they engage law enforcement.
“We are offering a 5% white hat bounty to the Poloniex hacker. Please return the funds to the following ETH/TRX/BTC wallets. We will give you 7 days to consider this offer before we engage law enforcement.”
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