Cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx, which recently fell to a significant breach, has called on the hackers to negotiate with the company and return the stolen assets.
The exchange has promised a significant bug bounty reward if the funds are returned.
CoinEx Reaches Out To Hackers
CoinEx published the open letter on the 15th of September on X (formerly Twitter) in an attempt to contact the hackers directly. The platform explained that the hack served as an important lesson for the company and made the team more aware of the importance of ensuring the security of assets held on the platform.
“We hope to build a sincere and open channel of communication. Through this channel, we can fully express our demands and engage in constructive discussions to find a reasonable solution. We firmly believe that dialogue and negotiation are the only effective solution.”
The message further added,
“We are well aware of the weaknesses and areas for improvement within the CoinEx team. This incident has come as a profound lesson for us and has alerted us to the fact that the security of exchange assets must never be compromised.”
The message called for dialogue between the exchange and the hackers and stressed that the stolen funds belonged to millions of customers who had trusted the exchange with their assets.
“The affected assets are not just numbers; they represent the trust millions of global users have placed in us. We hope you recognize the impact of this event on each one of those users. We would appreciate it if you understand the concerns and frustrations of these affected users. We sincerely invite you to work with us to resolve this issue in a secure, more reasonable, and more user-friendly manner.”
Generous Bug Bounty On Offer
CoinEx also offered the hackers a generous bug bounty should they return the stolen assets. Moreover, the platform also promised to improve its existing security infrastructure. It also invited the hackers to work with it to upgrade the exchange’s security infrastructure.
“After this incident, CoinEx will thoroughly upgrade its security architecture, investing more funds and manpower into security. If possible, we sincerely invite you to discuss the future upgrade of CoinEx’s security system. Together with global blockchain enterprises and practitioners, we will safeguard a free, open, secure, and trustworthy blockchain ecosystem.”
Meanwhile, on-chain investigator ZachXBT has identified the dreaded Lazarus Group as the entity that orchestrated the hack.
Around $70 Million Stolen In Hack
In a separate incident, CoinEx stated that while it was still calculating the full extent of the financial damage thanks to the hack, current calculations have revealed that $70 million has been stolen from the platform. This figure is higher than what was previously reported. However, CoinEx stressed that the stolen funds represented a very small portion of its total assets.
The exchange has also yet to specify when its services will fully resume. However, it stated that withdrawals would be reopened in phases after it had completed security checks. The firm also added that it was working on completing wallet upgrades next week and promised to reimburse impacted users fully.
“Currently, we focus on upgrading the wallet architecture, calculating losses, and freezing related suspicious addresses by coordinating with industry partners and peer exchanges. Regarding compensation plans for the stolen assets, we are now formulating options. The compensation will be provided per coin, with details to follow in our official announcements later.”
CoinEx was hacked on the 12th of September, with attackers draining around $55 million worth of crypto from the platform’s hot wallets. The hack forced the exchange to halt all operations, such as deposits and withdrawals, as it worked to investigate how the hack was orchestrated.
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.
