In a thread on X today November 19, cryptocurrency fintech firm Kronos Research confirmed the news of the hack: the attackers had somehow gained access to the company's API keys and made off with a variety of crypto assets.
According to on-chain data analysis firm Lookonchain, the attackers managed to get away with 24.6M worth of USDT, 488.7 ETH, and 125,056 USDC. The USDT and USDC were then swapped for ETH, netting the attackers a total of 13,010 ETH.
Kronos then immediately paused all trading operations on its trading platform Woo X. The firm was quick to assure its customers that it remains in "good standing" which is to say, that the stolen assets are ostensibly representative only of an "insignificant portion of [their] equity."
Kronos noted said it is currently prioritizing the resumption of its trading platform and liquildity services.
2023 has seen a not insignificant amount of hacking and security incidents. Blockchain security firm CertiK has recently reported that Q3 2023 was, by far, the most damaging quarter with over $700M worth of crypto assets lost to various attacks. This is more than both Q1 and Q2 combined, with $320M lost in Q1 and $313M in Q2. Additionally, CertiK estimated that $170M was lost in November alone; last week, Justin Sun's Poloniex was hacked for over $100M.
Key exploits, along with oracle manipulation are among the most common hacking techniques used in the crypto space. Prospective investors would do well to thoroughly research a crypto project before going in and investing.
Kronos, which began operations sometime in 2018, ranks as one of the crypto industry's leading platforms for consistent liquidity, boosted by its alpha research program which the firm claims are intelligent algorithms for trading optimization. Carnegie Mellon University alumni Mark Pimentel and Jack Tan founded Kronos, while the company is now being led by Hank Huang (CEO) and Vincent Liu (COO).
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
