CRYPTOPIA

DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS

"Controversy still surrounds a liquidated New Zealand cryptocurrency exchange, which allegedly got hacked again. Adding to the $30 million stolen in 2019, Cryptopia reports that it was the target of another theft incident on February 1, 2021." "Cryptopia’s liquidators were appointed in May 2019 to start the process of shutting down the crypto exchange."

"Cyber ​​fraudsters withdrew $ 45,000 worth of crypto assets from the New Zealand bitcoin exchange Cryptopia, which has been in the process of liquidation since 2019." "Liquidator Grant Thornton New Zealand said it hadn’t authorized the movement of funds and that it is investigating the incident, according to an email seen by Stuff." "The news comes soon after Grant Thornton finally started allowing former users of the exchange to enter claims to retrieve their assets."

"The wallet belongs to Stakenet and is under the control of Cryptopia’s liquidators, Grant Thornton. Per the findings, the dormant wallet was holding around $1.96 million worth of XSN, Stakenet’s native token." "According to Stuff.co.nz, the hackers took around NZD 62,000 ($45,000) worth of cryptocurrencies from the troubled exchange. The alert first came from Stakenet, a U.S.-based blockchain firm." "An email, seen by Stuff, from Grant Thornton’s Tom Aspin to Stakenet said it was investigating the transaction, which was not authorised by the liquidator." "Grant Thornton did not respond to requests for comment. It is understood the liquidator has contacted police about the alleged theft." "As of press time, they haven’t addressed the recent alleged hack publicly." "The incident is under investigation."

It seems fairly certain that the funds were not stored in a multi-signature wallet, and may even have been connected to an online system. It's possible that only a portion of the tokens were taken since the others were locked into a staking contract.

HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN PREVENTED?

This type of breach can be prevented through moving funds into an offline multi-signature wallet, which is controlled by trusted and trained individuals.

Check Our Framework For Safe Secure Exchange Platforms

The Complete List of Crypto Exchange Hacks - CryptoSec (May 11)
Troubled NZ Crypto Exchange Cryptopia Suffers Another Hack in the Midst of Liquidation Process – Security Bitcoin News (May 11)
Troubled NZ Crypto Exchange Cryptopia Suffers Another Hack in the Midst of Liquidation Process - Crypto Investor News (May 11)
Cryptopia Hacked Again (May 11)
Troubled NZ Crypto Exchange Cryptopia Suffers Another Hack in the Midst of Liquidation Process (May 11)
Cryptopia crypto exchange robbed : Hackers withdrew $ 45 thousand worth of crypto assets | City Telegraph (May 11)
Cryptopia Exchange, Currently in Liquidation, Gets Hacked Again: Report (May 11)
Assets Worth 62000 Allegedly Stolen From Liquidated Company Cryptopia (May 11)
SlowMist Hacked - SlowMist Zone (Jun 26)

More case studies

Verge Block
Reorganization Attempt

Coinseed
Destroyed By SEC