It’s a good day for KuCoin and its users who may soon be smiling their way to the bank, thanks to the recently recovered $222 million from hackers who made away with a staggering $285 million from the Cryptocurrency exchange last year. In a letter published by KuCoin’s CEO, Johnny Lyu, the Hong Kong-based exchange was able to successfully recover 78% of the stolen tokens, while the remaining $45.55 million (16%), may have been lost to hackers. But KuCoin users have nothing to worry about, as Lyu revealed that the exchange’s insurance will cover the remaining losses.
Excerpts of the letter posted by the CEO reads ;
“..with the efforts of all parties in the industry, we cooperated with exchange and project partners to recover $222 million (78%), and cooperated with law enforcements and security institutions to recover $17.45 million (6%). At the same time, KuCoin and our insurance fund covered the remaining part, about $45.55 million (16%).”
As reported previously, KuCoin exchange, which prides itself as a highly secure and advanced Cryptocurrency exchange platform, lost large amounts of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and several altcoins to hackers in September of last year. At the time of the hack, KuCoin initially stated that it was experiencing system issues.
Soon after, withdrawals were halted and Bitcoin whale tracker “Whale Alert” captured huge Cryptocurrency transfers from the exchange. Some 186,153 XRP worth $45,084 at the time were tracked by the bot. Hackers also made away with 11,484 ETH worth about $4 million. Other altcoins like Maker (MKR) and Yearn.Finance (YFI) amongst others, was stolen.
Exchange hacks have plagued the Cryptocurrency market since the creation of Bitcoin, causing damages that have forced several exchanges to pack up. According to Inside Bitcoins, a London-based media outlet, Cryptocurrency exchanges have lost over $11 billion to hackers in the space of nine years. In 2020 alone, the report claims that at least eight exchanges have been victims of security breaches, causing a collective loss of over $101 million.
Although recent exchange hacks have caused severe damages to users, the largest heist was recorded in 2014, when Cryptocurrencies worth around $6.68 billion was lost on four different occasions. While most security attacks have been carried out on exchanges, wallets and mining platforms have also been breached in previous times.
Even though some Cryptocurrency exchange platforms have shut down, following major cyberattacks, some others have managed to pay back affected customers, even after several years. Following the attacks over the years, many exchange founders have claimed to tighten their security, It still remains to be seen what the future of Cryptocurrency exchange security morphs into.