- Poloniex lost over $100 million in Ether due to a compromised private key.
- The hacker transferred approximately 17,800 ETH ($53.5 million) to Tornado Cash.
- Poloniex has been unable to recover the stolen funds.
About 17.8K ($53.5 million) ETH associated with the November 2023 Poloniex hack has been traced to Tornado Cash, a decentralized cryptocurrency tumbler. PeckShieldAlert disclosed this development via an X post: “The Poloniex hacker has already sent a total of 17.8K $ETH (worth $53.5 million) to TornadoCash.”
Recall that wallets owned by the cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex experienced a malicious attack on November 10, 2023. This action resulted in the exchange losing over $100 million worth of Ether.
Soon after, Poloniex asserted that it had found the hacker and offered a $10 million reward for the stolen funds. However, the efforts proved fruitless, as the funds were not returned to the exchange. CertiK, a blockchain security firm, suggested that the hack stemmed from a “private key compromise.”
Meanwhile, Poloniex reacted to the incident by temporarily turning off affected wallets. Poloniex’s efforts to retrieve the stolen funds have proved futile, as the hacker has no intention of remitting them.
After several investigations, PeckShield discovered that approximately $53.5 million had been transferred through Tornado Cash. For context, the hacker transferred about 17,800 ETH from six different wallets into a single Tornado Cash address.
Shortly after the wallet compromise, Poloniex resumed operations, enabling investors to deposit and withdraw cryptocurrencies freely. Moreover, the exchange took proactive steps by appointing a top-tier security auditing firm to strengthen fund security and prevent future hacks.
Poloniex stated that the security audit is nearing completion, with verification processes underway. After concluding the audit, the platform will promptly resume deposit and withdrawal services.
“Currently, they are in the final stages of the security audit and verification processes for Poloniex. Upon completion of the audit, we will promptly resume deposit and withdrawal services on our platform,” the exchange asserted.
Meanwhile, TRON founder and Poloniex’s owner Justin Sun assured users affected by the breach of full remuneration. Sun further emphasized Poloniex’s robust financial position and expressed intentions to partner with other exchanges to reclaim the lost funds.
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