By Solomon Odunayo
There was another hack on a crypto exchange, in which the hackers carted away with the sum of $5.4 million in various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple’s XRP, Tezos (XTZ), Algorand (ALGO) and Tron (TRX). This adds to a long list of hackers’ perpetrations on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Slovakian Exchange Eterbase Loses $5.4 Million to Hackers
The target of these hackers was a cryptocurrency exchange based in Slovakia, Eterbase. On 8th September 2020, the exchange reported that hackers breached its security and gained access to its hot wallets.
The perpetrators successfully compromised some internet-connected wallets, where the exchange receives deposits and sends its withdrawals.
Eterbase tweeted, “Dear users, the exchange is currently in maintenance mode because our hot wallets were compromised last night. Sorry for the inconvenience and please have some patience untill we solve the issue.”
Dear users, the exchange is currently in maintenance mode because our hot wallets were compromised last night:https://t.co/XWZZoWxLd0
Sorry for the inconvenience and please have some patience untill we solve the issue.
— ETERBASE (@ETERBASE) September 8, 2020
The exchange added, “We have reported the matter to law enforcement and we are cooperating closely in the investigation. We want to assure our clients that we are taking all necessary steps to ensure that the amount of their deposit does not suffer any damage as a result of a hacker attack.”
Based on the statement released by the exchange via its official Telegram channel, the attackers ransacked its wallets for Bitcoin (BTC), XRP, Tezos (XTZ), Algorand (ALGO), and Tron (TRX), stealing $5.4 million in the process. Eterbase promised to assist law enforcement as the investigation progresses.
Additionally, Eterbase stated that it has reached out to other cryptocurrency exchanges that are likely to receive the stolen crypto assets.
Enough Capital to Cover the Huge Loss
According to its description, the exchange is based in Bratislava and it’s the first regulation-compliant European cryptocurrency exchange.
Going by the data provided by the crypto analytics firm CoinGecko, Eterbase managed to raise $7.2 million in a 2018 ICO, and at the time of the attack, the exchange was trading relatively $3 million per day.
On 9th September, the exchange took to Twitter to reassure all the affected users of its capability to meet all its obligations.
Eterbase tweeted, “We want to inform our users that we have enough capital to meet all our obligations, and at the same time, we want to reassure everyone that this event won’t stop our journey!”
We want to inform our users that we have enough capital to meet all our obligations, and at the same time, we want to reassure everyone that this event won't stop our journey!https://t.co/8XwoPovHNZ pic.twitter.com/h8kur4fqxI
— ETERBASE (@ETERBASE) September 9, 2020
As of the time of writing, the time that that the exchange will be reopened for usual services has not been ascertained. The exchange wrote, “We would like to ask all users for support and patience. We will take all necessary steps to secure the exchange platform and manage the re-opening as soon as possible.”
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