Both exchanges lost a combined total of more than $200 million in a series of hacks last month.
British regulator adds Justin Sun-linked Poloniex to warning list after $100M hack
The Financial Conduct Authority warns that the crypto exchange is operating without proper authorization.
November most ‘damaging’ month in 2023 as thieves pilfer $363M in crypto
The Poloniex, HTX/Heco Bridge exploits and the KyberSwap flash loan attack were the three largest incidents in November, according to blockchain security firm CertiK.
Poloniex prepares to resume withdrawals after $100M hack
Poloniex says it will start resuming deposits on Nov. 30 with TRX, the cryptocurrency of Justin Sun’s Tron blockchain.
Justin Sun-related crypto platforms hacked 4 times in 2 months
Justin Sun’s cryptocurrency exchange HTX has been hacked twice since rebranding from Huobi in September 2023, raising questions from the crypto community.
Poloniex crypto exchange resumes withdrawals after $100M hack
Hacked cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex said it has mostly completed restoration efforts and is preparing to resume operations after suffering the major hack on Nov. 10.
$5 Million Reward: Justin Sun’s Bold Move Against Poloniex Attackers
Crypto exchange platform Poloniex was attacked by a bad actor, losing over $60 million of its customer’s funds. The Justin Sun led the exchange and launched an investigation, which remains ongoing, to determine the identity of the attackers.
Poloniex Makes Offering To Attackers
The crypto analytics platform Nansen data indicates that over $68 million in tokens left Poloniex over the past day. The image below shows that the attacker stole assets in ETH, BADGER, REN, OKB, NEXO, and 170 other tokens.
Nansen also confirmed that the biggest losses were suffered in top assets, Ethereum and USDT, with around $11 million each. Other tokens such as ELON, USDC, SHIB, and GLM saw inferior losses but still in the millions of dollars.
A few hours ago, as mentioned, the exchange launched an investigation and Justin assured its users that the platform keeps a “healthy financial position.” In that sense, Sun, also the founder of blockchain TRON, claimed that users will be reimbursed for their losses.
The platform is currently exploring a partnership with other crypto exchanges to recover the fund. Sun stated:
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.
In the crypto community, some users praised these efforts to recover the fund and encouraged the attacker or attackers to take the bounty for “pointing out vulnerabilities” in the platform’s security. However, other users were critical of the measure. One community member stated:
(…) a white hat doesn’t steal funds and then ask for a bounty, whatever you’re promising, law enforcement will be involved. It’s like saying you can beat someone to death but if you take them to the hospital you’ll be safe (…).
Who Is Behind The Poloniex Attack?
It remains to be seen if the attacker will accept the offer. In the crypto space, many cyberattacks have been conducted by state-sponsored hacker groups, such as the infamous Lazarus Group, allegedly working for the North Korean Government.
According to a report from our sister website, Bitcoinist, this group stole billions of dollars from the nascent industry in the past two years. The terrorist group is allegedly a key component of the country’s nuclear program. Jason Bartlett, a researcher at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), said:
Cryptocurrency offers Pyongyang a new kind of currency that is substantially less regulated and understood by national governments, financial institutions, and international organizations.
However, cryptocurrencies also operate as an important tool for law enforcement agencies to track down and cut funding for rogue entities. Due to blockchain technology’s transparency, some criminals stay clear of digital assets and crypto exchanges.
As of this writing, Ethereum (ETH) trades at $2,077 with a 7% profit in the last 24 hours.
Cover image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview
Poloniex Hot Wallets Hacked With $114M Seemingly Stolen: On-Chain Data
Cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex has had its hot wallets drained by hackers with an estimated loss of around $60 million.
Justin Sun Will Now Publicly Trade Meme Coins Like PEPE, Best Time To Copy Trade Him?
Justin Sun, the vocal crypto supporter and co-founder of Tron and chief executive officer (CEO) of BitTorrent, says he will begin actively trading meme coins like PEPE.
Justin Sun Eying Meme Coins
In a tweet on May 11, Sun, known for being a crypto whale, actively holding and transferring colossal sums of coins in the past, said he would begin actively trading meme coins and promising projects straight from his public cryptocurrency address.
However, as a disclaimer, all profits will be donated to charity.
I've decided to begin actively trading meme coins and promising projects through my public address. Please note, I will personally bear all potential losses from these trades, and any profits made will be donated entirely to charity.
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) May 11, 2023
He also added that though he might decide to buy certain coins and get exposure to a promising meme coin project, the said coin or project, regardless of its potential, may not be listed on Huobi or Poloniex. These are some of the early and most liquid cryptocurrency exchanges listing hundreds of tokens that Sun occupies an influential executive seat.
It is still unclear which project Sun has an eye on. At the same time, it could not be determined which of his crypto addresses the co-founder will use when trading meme coins.
Although Sun might be the co-founder of Tron, he has not shied from engaging in other projects deployed on public networks like Ethereum and others.
Tron Co-founder Warned By Binance
Following a warning from Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, the world’s largest exchange by client count and trading volumes, Sun reversed a $56 million transfer he had made in early May. There were concerns that Sun was planning a token grab of SUI, the native currency of the Sui Network.
Our team told Justin, if he uses any of these to grab the LaunchPool Sui token, we will "take action against it". SMH.
Binance LaunchPool are meant as air drops for our retail users, not just for a few whales.
On the bright side, blockchains are transparent… https://t.co/8Xs1oXjfVd
— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) May 1, 2023
WhaleAlert flagged Sun’s bulk $56 million transfer in TUSD. Before Zhao said, Binance would take action if he block-bought SUI from the Binance Launchpool. The exchange clarified that it wanted a fair airdrop to include active retailers and not “just a few crypto whales.”
Through the Launchpool, users can stake their crypto assets like SUI, providing liquidity, before receiving staking rewards.
Sun later apologized for the huge transfer, saying it was in error. The real intention, he clarified, was in the market-making of TUSD, a stablecoin. The Tron founder said:
Regrettably, some of our team members were not fully aware of the intended purpose for these funds and inadvertently used a portion of them to participate in exchange campaigns. Upon realizing this error, we immediately contacted the exchange team and arranged for a full refund of the funds.
It is not immediately clear how Sun will proceed in trading and how the community will react to his purchases once he starts picking out worthy meme coin projects. Even so, what’s clear is that his addresses, like those of other influential crypto founders like Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin, will be actively tracked and copied.
Poloniex will pay $7.6M settlement to US authorities for ‘apparent violations’ of sanctions
OFAC said Poloniex allowed users in Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria to conduct digital asset trades, deposits and withdrawals between January 2014 and November 2019.
Crypto Exchange Poloniex Agrees to $7.6M Fee to Settle Sanctions Violation Charges
Crypto exchange Poloniex will remit $7.59 million to settle sanctions violations allegations with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), the sanctions watchdog announced Monday.
Ethereum bulls wake up after four years to transfer 22,982 ETH
The ETH tokens in question originated from trading platforms Genesis and Poloniex and were found transferring 13,103.99 ETH and 9,878 ETH, respectively.
Two firms account for the majority of Tether received: Report
A new study by Protos claims that Tether flow is dominated by just two firms — Alameda Research and Cumberland.
‘Crypto Mom’ Hester Peirce slams SEC for $10m Poloniex settlement
“Crypto mom” Hester Peirce has slammed SEC’s $10 million settlement with Poloniex, challenging the opaque regulations U.S.-based crypto firms must navigate.
Poloniex settles charges with SEC for operating unregistered exchange
Poloniex will reportedly pay over $10 million as settlement for the SEC indictment.
UK Crypto Exchange EXMO Says $4M of Hacked Funds Was Through Poloniex
Cryptocurrency exchange EXMO said an estimated $4 million of the cryptocurrency stolen during a hack on Dec. 21 was through the exchange Poloniex. Read more: Crypto Exchange EXMO Says Hackers Have Stolen 5% of Total Assets
Bittrex and Poloniex Move for Summary Judgment in Market Manipulation Case
Bittrex and Poloniex were added to the case as defendants in June 2020.
Bittrex, Poloniex Added to Lawsuit Claiming Tether Manipulated Bitcoin Market
An amended lawsuit alleging Tether and Bitfinex manipulated the bitcoin market is now claiming Poloniex and Bittrex were also involved.
Bittrex, Poloniex Added to Lawsuit Claiming Tether Manipulated Bitcoin Market
An amended lawsuit alleging Tether and Bitfinex manipulated the bitcoin market is now claiming Poloniex and Bittrex were also involved.
Poloniex’s New Tron-Powered IEO Platform Moves Exchange Closer to Justin Sun’s Orbit
The new platform uses Tron’s TRX token for purchases and its first project is within the Tron fold.