The cryptocurrency exchange ZB Exchange has suspended withdrawals. This is due to an alleged hack on Tuesday that drained nearly $5 million worth of tokens from the company’s hot wallet.
The multimillion-dollar loss is the latest in a series of security issues that have plagued cryptocurrency companies this year. It was also the third theft of this type to occur in the past week.
PeckShield, a blockchain security firm, tweeted on Wednesday about the attack, which appeared to have resulted in the theft of up to $4.8 million in Tether (USDT), Polygon (MATIC), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and other virtual currencies from the exchange’s hot wallet.
According to the transaction records, the tokens were later traded for Ether (ETH) on a number of decentralized exchanges.
In a blog post on Tuesday, the company announced the halting of withdrawals, citing “temporary maintenance.”
Most of the exchange’s users expressed their worries on Twitter about how they would access their funds in the face of the withdrawal ban and criticized the exchange for remaining silent about the alleged security breach.
A series of multimillion-dollar exploits have recently shaken investor confidence in cryptocurrency markets, prompting many investors to become more selective about where they keep their valuables.
In June, an organization sponsored by the North Korean government stole $100 million in altcoins from the Horizon Bridge. Then, earlier last week, hackers broke into about 8,000 Solana wallets and stole over $5 million worth of tokens, including Solana’s SOL token and USD coin (USDC).
Another exploit last week cost the cross-chain bridge Nomad about $190 million in cryptocurrency. A recent analysis from blockchain security company Chainalysis claims that $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency has been stolen from cross-chain bridges this year, accounting for 69% of all crypto theft.
With over $1 billion in daily transaction volume, ZB Exchange was formerly referred to as the “world’s most secure” cryptocurrency exchange. It was established in 2013 under the name CHBTC.co.
The exchange, which was previously based in China, ceased operations in 2017 after local authorities prohibited fundraising via Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
The action was taken in response to the Chinese central bank’s concerns about the use of widely used and largely unregulated fundraising techniques in a number of financial scams. Since then, the company has expanded internationally. It is now headquartered in Hong Kong, but it also maintains offices in the United States and Australia.
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