A significant breach sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency landscape, as Huobi Global's HTX exchange fell victim to a hack, as reported by blockchain analytics platform, Cyvers.

As reported by Cyvers, $7.9 million in cryptocurrency was siphoned from the exchange's coffers.

In a twist to this unfolding narrative, a HTX hot wallet communicated with the perpetrator in the language of its origin, Chinese.

The on-chain message reads:

"We have identified your true identity. Please return the funds to 0x18709E89BD403F470088aBDAcEbE86CC60dda12e. We will offer you a 5% white hat bonus. This offer is valid for 7 days, until October 2, 2023. If you have not returned the funds by then, we will involve law enforcement."

How Did The HTX Hack Occurred?

A suspected HTX hot wallet bearing the address 0x2Abc22eb9A09EbBE7b41737CCde147F586EfeB6A, executed a transaction of 4,999 Ether, an amount equivalent to approximately $7.9 million.

Intriguingly, the destination address for this sizeable transfer bore no prior transaction history.

Thereafter, a distinct wallet affiliated with HTX directed a message in Chinese to the attacker.

It is of note that this wallet's association with HTX was substantiated by blockchain analytics experts at Arkham Intelligence.

Tron founder and HTX advisor Justin Sun confirmed the attack stating:

“HTX @HTX_Global has suffered a loss of 5,000 #Eth ($8 million USD) due to a hacker attack. HTX has fully covered the losses incurred from the attack and has successfully resolved all related issues. All user assets #SAFU and the platform is operating completely normally."

Blockchain investigator PeckShield also exhibited their foresight by uncovering telltale signs of the impending hack.

#PeckShieldAlert ~4,999 $ETH (~$7.9M) transfer-out from @HTX_Global@justinsuntronpic.twitter.com/Q8vhVcghU3
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) September 25, 2023
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In the aftermath of this digital heist, the hacker's whereabouts have been traced.

The breadcrumb trail of illicit activity leads to two distinct addresses, this and also this.

Speaking to the scale of this breach, Justin noted that while the losses inflicted upon the exchange are palpable, they represent but a fraction of the colossal $3 billion in assets held collectively by HTX's user base.

In a striking perspective, he characterised this financial setback as a "relatively small sum."

He went on to contextualise the incident, likening it to a mere blip on the radar — a financial event equating to a mere two weeks' revenue for the HTX platform.

Justin also reassured users that "all funds are secure, and trading operations have continued as usual."

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the CEO of Binance, has pledged the support of Binance's security team in the pursuit of tracking the ill-gotten gains of the hacker.