Malicious actors stole hundreds of billions of Shiba Inu tokens as well as other crypto assets in a recent Heco cross-chain bridge exploit.
In a recent tweet, blockchain security firm PeckShield announced that Heco Bridge, a protocol used for moving funds between HTX’s Heco Chain and Ethereum network, was attacked by malicious actors yesterday.
Hackers Steal $86M Cryptos
According to PeckShield, the devastating attack led to the loss of over $86 million worth of cryptos, including top assets like Shiba Inu (SHIB).
Assets stolen from the attack include 346.9 billion SHIB worth $2.8 million. Other assets stolen are 42.11 million USDT, 10,145 ETH ($20.42 million), 489 HBTC valued at around $15.63 million, 173,200 UNI worth $932,000, 610K USDC, 42,399 LINK ($600,000), as well as 347,000 TUSD.
Update: Total $86.6M worth of cryptos
-346,994 $TUSD
-42,399 $LINK (~$601,641)
-619,000 $USDC
-173,200 $UNI ($931,816)
-346.9M $SHIB (~$2.8M)
-489 $HBTC ($18.8M)
-42M $USDT
-10,145 $ETH (~$19M)— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) November 22, 2023
Shortly after the hack, the attackers immediately took to a decentralized exchange and swapped the stolen assets for Ether. This brought their total ETH holding to 41,434 ETH. At the time of writing this line, the 41,434 ETH coins were worth $85.76 million.
Justin Sun Reacts
Commenting on the incident, HTX advisor Justin Sun confirmed that hackers attacked the Heco cross-chain Bridge. Sun said the team temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals to prevent further losses while assuring users that HTX’s funds are safe.
In the meantime, Sun said the HTX team has launched an investigation to ascertain the major reason behind the attack. He promised to resume HTX deposits and withdrawal service once the team completes the investigation.
Sun’s Crypto Project Suffers Major Attacks
It bears mentioning that Justin Sun’s crypto projects have been under attack in recent times. In October, iToken (formerly Huobi Wallet) was hacked to the tune of $263,000.
Following the incident, the attackers promptly swapped the stolen assets for 2.9 million TRX before transferring the funds to ChangeNOW and Binance.
Earlier this month, hackers carted away over $120 million worth of crypto assets from Sun’s crypto exchange Poloniex, prompting the crypto entrepreneur to involve police from China, the U.S., and Russia to arrest the culprit.