The Coinhako hacking episode has led the exchange to limit user withdrawals in a bid to protect the assets. The exact cause and mechanism behind the sophisticated attack are under research. The restrictions on user withdrawals will be lifted until further notice.
Coinhako is a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange backed by crypto celebrity Tim Draper. Users were informed officially today about the disabled account send function on their accounts. The increasing number of hacking attacks in the crypto realm is shaking investor confidence and also causing embarrassment to the DeFi sector.
Coinhako hacking attack still a mystery
The exchange initially stated that account withdrawal restrictions were due to routine network maintenance. However, they retracted their statement and said that the exchange had suffered a significant hacking attack leading to account restrictions. The step will help avoid any ‘unauthorized transactions’ that can further complicate matters.
The Coinhako hacking details are still elusive. No further explanation has been issued by the exchange so far that it can reveal the nature and intensity of the hack. Also, the amount of asset damage has not been shared with the public so far. The preventive restrictions, conveyed via the exchange’s official Telegram channel, were not received well by the community.
On 21st Feb 2020, our system was quick to detect transactional anomalies. This allowed us to react and keep affected parties low.
Affected parties have been fully reimbursed and here is an overview of the incident 👇🏻
Join Telegram for more info https://t.co/y2TAdAyLLZ#coinhako pic.twitter.com/xBAAhfgsHb
— Coinhako (@coinhako) February 27, 2020
As per reports, around 20 Coinhako accounts are believed to have been hacked. The official spokesperson of Coinhako mentioned that the user’s private keys are safe, and wallets were not compromised in any way.
Coinhako hacking scandal can dent the exchange’s reputation
Coinhako launched cryptocurrency trading operations in 2014, primarily for Singapore traders. Its Singapore dollar pairs are highly popular among the traders. In 2019, ‘over-the-counter’ crypto trading solutions were introduced.
Yusho Liu, the chief executive officer of Coinhako, said that the account restrictions are a countermeasure to prevent further transaction losses. Furthermore, user passwords have been reset to avoid identity theft. Normal operations like trading, deposits, and fiat withdrawals are very much functional. Tim Draper has so far not responded to the Coinhako hacking attack.
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