Bithumb Hack

Reported loss $19.2M
Ethereum Ripple
Access Control

What happened

On March 29, 2019, Bithumb detected abnormal withdrawals from company hot wallets. More than 3 million EOS and 20 million XRP, reported at roughly $19 million, were transferred out. Bithumb said the assets were its own and suspected insider involvement because it had not identified an external intrusion route; the allegation was an assessment, not a confirmed attribution.

How it happened

  1. Abnormal withdrawals moved EOS and XRP from Bithumb hot wallets.
  2. Reporting identified more than 3 million EOS and 20 million XRP as transferred out.
  3. The stolen EOS was rapidly sent to external services and exchanges.
  4. Bithumb stated that customer funds were protected in cold wallets and investigated with KISA, police, and security companies.
  5. The exchange worked with other services in an effort to freeze or recover the assets.

Protocol details

Classification CeFi / Key Compromise
Protocol Type Exploit/Access control

Funds Recovery

72.9%

Recovered

$14.0M

Net Loss

$5,203,200

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