Coinspeaker
Justin Sun Admits $8M HTX Hack, Offers 5% for Return of Stolen Funds’
Justin Sun has announced on X (formerly Twitter) that crypto exchange HTX (formerly Huobi) suffered a hack in which the hackers made away with 5,000 Ether (ETH), worth about $7.9 million.
In a thread, Sun provided further details about the HTX hack. The company advisor posted two of the hacker’s addresses and tried to allay customers’ fears, explaining:
“HTX 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 are SAFU and the platform is operating completely normally.”
Sun seemingly dismissed the hack, stating in a follow-up post that the $8 million lost is a “relatively small sum” compared to the $3 billion worth of assets held by customers. He then added that the amount is about two weeks’ worth of HTX revenue. The billionaire advisor assured that the hack was detected immediately and that HTX took quick action to prevent losses, thereby “restoring the platform to its normal state without delay.”
HTX Hack Offer for Return of Funds
Sun has offered a prize to the hacker if they return the funds. However, he threatened to involve law enforcement authorities if the hacker fails to pay back.
“We are willing to offer 5% of the stolen amount (400,000 USD) as a white hat reward to encourage the hacker to return the stolen funds. If the hacker returns the funds, we will also hire them as a security white hat advisor for HTX. If the funds are not returned within 7 days, we will transfer the information to law enforcement authorities for further action and to prosecute the hacker,” said he.
Huobi recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and announced a rebrand to HTX. According to an official news release, the H is for Huobi, T is for Sun’s TRON, and the X is for exchange. The release also adds that X is the Roman numeral for 10, referencing the company’s decade-long journey. Furthermore, HTX announced a new slogan – “HTX, Just Trade It.”
According to Sun, Huobi decided to rebrand for international exposure. The company wants to be known as an exchange with operations and customers all over the globe and plans to achieve this over the next few years. Sun explained the rebrand during a press briefing at the Token 2049 crypto conference in Singapore. He noted that HTX better serves English-speaking users as the Huobi name does not connect with them. However, the company will retain the Huobi name in Chinese-speaking regions.
Recently, Sun launched a crypto investment project for people interested in yields on Tether in the form of Staked Tether (stUSDT). In less than three months, the project has already seen investments of up to $1.8 billion. However, analysts are now worried that stUSDT poses a significant threat to Huobi Global. This is because the only way to invest in stUSDT is through Huobi. Analysts worry that this could cripple the exchange in the event of a large outflow of funds.
Justin Sun Admits $8M HTX Hack, Offers 5% for Return of Stolen Funds’
