James Richardson
BigONE, a Seychelles-registered cryptocurrency exchange, reported a loss of $27 million following a sophisticated hack on its hot wallet infrastructure, the company announced on Wednesday.
The breach was detected in the early hours of July 16, when the platform noticed unusual asset movements, prompting an internal investigation.
โWe confirmed the incident was a result of a third-party attack that targeted our hot wallet system,โ BigONE stated in its official update.
Assets Lost Across Multiple Networks
According to the exchange, the attackers managed to siphon off:
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120 BTC
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350 ETH
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1,800 SOL
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8.54 million USDT
The stolen funds spanned four different blockchain networks and involved eight additional cryptocurrencies, including DOGE, SHIB, and CELR.
Attack Linked to Supply Chain Vulnerability
Blockchain security firm SlowMist was the first to report on the incident, identifying the breach as a supply chain attack โ a method where hackers inject malicious code into production systems.
โThe production environment was breached, and the logic behind risk control and account systems was altered, enabling unauthorized fund withdrawals,โ SlowMist posted on X. Importantly, no private keys were compromised, they added.
BigONE Assures Users: No Private Keys Leaked
BigONE echoed SlowMistโs assessment, confirming that all private keys remain secure. The exchange has since pinpointed the vulnerability and is working alongside SlowMist to track the hackerโs movements and recover the stolen assets.
To protect user assets and maintain operational stability, BigONE activated its internal security reserves and committed to covering all financial losses.
โOur team is actively restoring services, and we expect deposit and trading operations to resume within hours,โ the platform said.
Criticism From Onchain Investigator
Not everyone showed sympathy. Prominent onchain analyst ZachXBT commented on X, stating he had โno pityโ for BigONE, accusing the exchange of facilitating volume from pig butchering scams, romance schemes, and fraudulent investment operations.
BigONE, which originated in China in 2017, processed nearly $684 million in trading volume over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.
