Crypto exchange HTX hit by $346 million outflow in wake of hack
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The HTX exchange is linked to China-born industry mogul Justin Sun.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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Mumbai – The HTX exchange, a digital asset trading platform linked to China-born industry mogul Justin Sun, has suffered a US$258 million (S$346 million) net outflow since resuming operations after suffering a major hack.
The funds left the exchange between its Nov 25 restart and Dec 10, DefiLlama data shows, a sign that some clients were unsettled by November’s security incident.
HTX said it lost US$30 million worth of crypto tokens in the breach and temporarily suspended withdrawals and deposits following the attack.
Neither the exchange nor a spokesperson for Mr Sun immediately replied to requests for comment about the outflows from the exchange.
Mr Sun is also linked to the Poloniex exchange and the Heco Bridge, a network set up by HTX to enable transfers between blockchains. Poloniex and Heco were hacked in November too, leading to the theft of about US$200 million in crypto.
After the November HTX incident, Mr Sun said in a post on X that a probe was under way and that the exchange would “fully compensate for HTX’s hot wallet losses”.
Hackers also stole US$8 million from the platform in September.
HTX, once known as Huobi, had an average trading volume of US$1.6 billion in the past 24 hours, putting it in the top 20 crypto exchanges by that metric, according to CoinMarketCap figures as at 6.25pm on Dec 10 in Singapore.
Digital asset investors have become more attuned to shifts in flows and reserves at virtual currency exchanges following the collapse of the FTX platform in 2022 with a giant hole in its books.
At HTX, the biggest chunk of reserves – about 33 per cent – is comprised of Bitcoin, according to DefiLlama.
About 32 per cent is in the TRX token from the Tron blockchain, which Mr Sun launched in 2017.
HTX’s exchange coin HT accounts for some 14 per cent, followed by a Mr Sun-backed token called stUSDT at 12 per cent.
TRX is at the centre of US fraud allegations against Mr Sun.
The Securities and Exchange Commission in a March lawsuit accused him and his firms of market manipulation to make the token appear actively traded.
Mr Sun tweeted at the time that the suit “lacks merit”.
Security firm BlockSec said HTX recovered the US$8 million stolen in September. Hackers still appear to control the US$30 million taken in November, it added. BLOOMBERG
