BigONE Hot Wallet Hack Loses $27M, Exchange to Compensate
BigONE, a cryptocurrency exchange, confirmed on July 16 that a hot wallet hack resulted in the theft of roughly $27 million in digital assets. Attackers exploited CI/CD pipeline vulnerabilities to deploy malicious binaries and disable risk controls, triggering alerts after abnormal fund transfers.
Stolen assets included 120 BTC, 350 ETH, millions of USDT across TRC20, ERC20, BSC and SOL chains, plus tokens such as SHIB, CELR, SNT, DOGE, SOL, WBTC, XIN, UNI and LEO. To trace laundered funds, BigONE engaged blockchain security firms SlowMist and Cyvers. The hackers converted tokens to WETH/ETH for mixing and decentralized trades.
BigONE’s private keys remained secure and engineers contained the hot wallet hack swiftly. The exchange pledged full compensation from its security reserves and arranged external liquidity to cover user losses. Deposits and trading will resume within hours, with withdrawals reopening after enhanced security upgrades.
This hot wallet hack underscores persistent security risks in the crypto sector. Traders should monitor potential market impacts as exchanges tighten wallet management and incident response measures.
Bearish
In the short term, the BigONE hot wallet hack may weigh on BTC and ETH prices due to heightened security concerns and potential liquidity constraints as users move funds off the exchange. Trading volumes could dip and selling pressure might increase. However, the swift containment and full compensation pledge could restore confidence over the longer term, limiting sustained market downturn. Overall, the incident highlights systemic cyber risks that may temper bullish sentiment until stronger security measures are adopted.