Crypto Exchange AscendEX Hacked, Losses Estimated at $77M

Cryptocurrency exchange AscendEX suffered a hack for an estimated $77 million following a breach of one its hot wallets.

• On Sunday, AscendEX announced via Twitter that it had identified a number of unauthorized transactions from one of its hot wallets on Saturday.
• Assets not affected have been transferred to cold wallets while the investigation is carried out, the exchange added.
• AscendEX said it will fully reimburse all impacted users and is working with law enforcement and forensic firms to find the stolen assets.
• Blockchain analytics firm PeckShield estimated that the stolen funds amounted to $77 million spread across three chains: Ethereum ($60 million), Binance Smart Chain ($9.2 million) and Polygon ($8.5 million).
• The largest share of the $77 million was accounted for by the relatively minor taraxa (TARA) with $10.8 million, while the combined shares of stablecoins USDT and USDC accounted for $10.7 million.
• The Singapore-based exchange, which was formerly known as BitMax, claims to serve one million institutional and retail clients. It recently raised a $50 million Series B led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC.

UPDATE (Dec. 14, 05:02): Adds reimbursement information in third bullet.

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