Hong Kong’s Crypto Firm Hit by Unprecedented $200 Million Cyber Heist

Monday, 25/09/2023 | 21:47 GMT by Jared Kirui

Mixin Network allegedly lost the funds through its cloud service provider.

The platform has temporarily halted withdrawals to contain the situation.

Hong Kong-based Mixin Network, a blockchain protocol aiming to tackle scalability challenges, has fallen victim to a massive cyberattack resulting in losses nearing $200 million. The cyber heist, which is considered the largest of its kind this year, has sent shockwaves through the crypto space, raising significant concerns about the security of digital assets.

Mixin, which facilitates the transfer of digital assets, was compromised when hackers targeted its network's cloud service provider. This attack resulted in a loss of approximately $200 million worth of cryptocurrency. Mixin reported the breach on X (formerly known as Twitter), stating that user withdrawals were temporarily halted to contain the situation.

[Announcement] In the early morning of September 23, 2023 Hong Kong time, the database of Mixin Network's cloud service provider was attacked by hackers, resulting in the loss of some assets on the mainnet. We have contacted Google and blockchain security company @SlowMist_Team…
— Mixin Kernel (@MixinKernel) September 25, 2023

Mixin’s Loss Shakes Hong Kong's Crypto Sector

Based in Hong Kong, Mixin has a user base of one million individuals who utilize its services for digital asset transfers. As of July, Mixin had a portfolio of the top 100 assets with a combined value exceeding $1.1 billion. During that same month, the network recorded an impressive 663,489 unique monthly Bitcoin (BTC) transactions and 179,647 ether (ETH) transactions, Coindesk reported.

In addition, Mixin’s security incident, which occurred on September 23, is the most significant cyber theft in 2023 to date, as reported by the blockchain research firm Elliptic. Nonetheless, the cryptocurrency exchange has reassured its clients that asset transfers remain unaffected, and it has pledged to reopen its services once vulnerabilities are fully addressed. Mixin has also promised to unveil a comprehensive solution for dealing with the lost assets.

Other Crypto Firm Faces Hack

In July 2023, there was an unprecedented surge in cyberattacks and exploits that resulted in losses exceeding a staggering $303 million, Finance Magnates reported. This figure, which marks the highest year-to-date total, was disclosed by Certik, a security platform specializing in blockchain technology.

[Announcement] In the early morning of September 23, 2023 Hong Kong time, the database of Mixin Network's cloud service provider was attacked by hackers, resulting in the loss of some assets on the mainnet. We have contacted Google and blockchain security company @SlowMist_Team…
— Mixin Kernel (@MixinKernel) September 25, 2023