Huobi Global Recovers Stolen Funds and Rewards Hacker
Huobi Global’s cryptocurrency exchange, HTX, has successfully recovered the funds stolen by a hacker in late September and has taken the unusual step of issuing a 250 Ether (ETH) bounty to the individual responsible after resolving the issue.
The Hack and Communication with the Hacker
On September 25, one of HTX’s hot wallets was drained of 5,000 ETH, worth around $8 million at the time. However, the exchange was able to establish communication with the hacker and even identified their identity.
Unique Offer Made to the Hacker
In an attempt to resolve the matter without legal action, HTX made a unique offer to the hacker. They proposed paying a 5% bounty, amounting to approximately $400,000, and promised not to pursue any legal action if the hacker returned 95% of the stolen funds before October 2.
Hacker Complies and Receives Reward
An update on October 7 confirmed that the hacker fully returned all the funds as agreed. Huobi Global has decided to reward them with 250 ETH (worth about $397k) for their “white hat” initiative.
Other Hacking Incidents in the Crypto Space
During the same week as the HTX hack, Mixin Network was exploited for around $200 million. The protocol offered a $20 million bug bounty for the return of stolen funds. CoinEx also lost $27 million in a recent hack, while Upbit reported approximately 159,000 exploit attempts on its security measures.
Increase in Hacking Incidents
The third quarter of 2023 saw an increase in hacking incidents in the cryptocurrency space. A report by Immunefi recorded 76 hacks targeting crypto and Web3 projects and companies, compared to 30 in the same period in 2022. Additionally, CertiK reported a loss of $1.34 billion due to exploits, scams, and vulnerabilities in the crypto sector.
Hot Take: HTX Recovers Stolen Funds and Rewards Hacker
Huobi Global’s cryptocurrency exchange, HTX, has successfully recovered the funds stolen by a hacker in late September. In an unusual move, they have rewarded the hacker with 250 ETH as a bounty for their white hat initiative. This incident highlights the ongoing issue of hacking in the crypto space, with other notable hacks occurring recently. It is crucial for exchanges and projects to strengthen their security measures to protect user funds and prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
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