- The HECO Chain Bridge has been attacked.
- Tron Founder Justin Sun confirmed the news.
- Millions of dollars in crypto have been drained from the bridge.
According to recent reports by blockchain security firms, the HECO Chain Bridge has been exploited, and the attackers are feared to have drained millions of dollars following suspicious transactions.
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Built by HTX Global Exchange, the HECO Chain Bridge allows users to map Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), stablecoins, and other cryptocurrencies to the Heco blockchain.
HECO Chain Bride Exploited
Terming the alert “code red,” blockchain security firm Cyvers was the first to share the news on the HECO Chain Bridge attack on November 22. The firm reported multiple suspicious transactions on the bridge and HTX’s hot wallets.
About an hour after Cyvers’s attack, PeckShield also issued an alert about a suspicious withdrawal of 10,000 ETH from the bridge, noting that a compromised operator likely initiated the transaction.
In a follow-up update, PeckShield announced that the attackers had drained $86.6 million worth of assorted cryptocurrencies from the bridge, including 346.9 million SHIB, 42 million USDT, 619,000 USDC, 346,994 TUSD, 173,200 UNI, 42,399 LINK, and 489 HBTC.
Following the reports by the security firms, Tron Founder Justin Sun took to 𝕏 and confirmed the hack on HECO bridge and his crypto exchange HTX, which Cyvers estimates lost about $12.4 million in the attack.
Justin Sun Confirms the Attack
In response to the incident, Sun announced that HTX exchange will fully compensate for funds lost in its hot wallets as deposits and withdrawals remain temporarily suspended. Sun assured users that all funds were safe and that they should “rest assured.”
“We are investigating the specific reasons for the hacker attack. Once we complete the investigation and identify the cause, we will resume services.” Sun stated.
While Sun didn’t give further details about the exploit, Cyvers noted that the attacker had swapped all the stolen assets for ETH and transferred the same to four Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs), paying 1 ETH in gas fee for each address.
By press time, HTX Global had transferred the remaining assets to their Huobi recovery address, according to Cyvers.
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