AscendEX, a global crypto exchange platform, announced on its official Twitter handle that it lost a substantial amount of funds to a hack. The post read:
“We have detected a number of ERC-20, BSC, and Polygon tokens transferred from our hot wallet. Cold Wallet is NOT affected. Investigation underway. If any user’s funds are affected by the incident, they will be covered completely by AscendEX.”
With this, AscendEX becomes the latest crypto exchange to fall victim to an online breach – following a long succession of others. According to blockchain security company Peckshield, AscendEX (formerly known as BitMax) lost $77.8 million worth of crypto assets.
The exchange platform quickly allayed any concerns. In addition to compensating for lost funds, the exchange revealed that it is also working with law enforcement and blockchain forensic firms to uncover the theft. Furthermore, AscendEX’s director of sales and business development Jay Kubert also stated that all deposits and withdrawals have been discontinued temporarily. According to Kubert, this to aid in the thorough investigation of the hack. However, Kubert assured users of the platform that normal activities would resume in no time.
AscendEX did not disclose the specific stolen tokens nor the amount. However, PeckShield said the stolen assets included stablecoins USDT, and USDC. It further mentioned crypto tokens such as SHIB, AAVE, and COMP.
