Crypto exchange KuCoin got hacked in which $150 million in crypto transferred from exchange hot wallets to an unknown address. But recently, it is reported that Tether and Bitfinex have frozen USDT worth $33 million which is related to KuCoin’s hack.
Tether and Bitfinex Freeze $20 M and $13 M USDT Respectively
Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Bitfinex and Tether, tweeted that Tether has frozen $20 million USDT on the Ethereum network while Bitfinex has frozen $13 million USDT on the EOS network.
PSA: re #KuCoin hack@bitfinex froze 13M Tether USDt on EOS as part of the hack@Tether_to just froze 20M Tether USDt sitting on this Ethereum address https://t.co/GYmESH44da as precautionary measure.
Stay safe everyone!
— Paolo Ardoino
(@paoloardoino) September 26, 2020
Binance has shared sympathetic sentiments on KuCoin’s hack and has also offered its services to recover funds and bringing those to justice who have done this. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said:
“As always, #Binance has been actively helping other exchanges that got hacked. The sooner we get notified, the more we can help. We will work together to make the industry #SAFU-er.”
“Freezing deposits that come our way. Help with blockchain analysis, security audits/advices, and even helping connecting with other exchanges, or to law enforcement agencies in different parts of the world,” CZ added.
Security Incident
After the incident, the company suspended deposits and withdrawals. KuCoin called it a security incident rather than a hacking attack. Later they announced a reward of $100,000 to those who will provide valid information about the incident. KuCoin stated:
“KuCoin is investigating the incident with international law enforcement, and we will offer rewards of up to $100,000 to those who can provide valid information to us regarding this incident. Please contact business@kucoin.com.”
The company announced to give back funds to users who are affected by this incident. KuCoin said,”Please rest assured that if any user fund is affected by this incident, it will be covered completely by KuCoin and our insurance fund.”
The exchange also contacted other crypto exchanges and law enforcement agencies to take necessary measures in this regard. “We are in contact with many major crypto exchanges such as Huobi, Binance, OKEx, BitMax and Bybit, as well as blockchain projects, security agencies, and law enforcement to work on this. Some effective measures have been taken, and we will update with more details soon,” KuCoin said.