BitoPro Loses $11 Million in May Cyberattack

BitoPro, a prominent crypto exchange based in China Taiwan, has officially confirmed that it was the victim of a cyberattack in May. The breach targeted an old hot wallet, resulting in the loss of over $11 million. The company swiftly responded by replenishing the stolen funds and transferring assets to new wallets to mitigate further losses.

The incident occurred on May 8 during a wallet system upgrade and was initially identified by blockchain investigator ZachXBT. The stolen funds were subsequently laundered through decentralized exchanges and privacy protocols before being deposited into Wasabi Wallet, a well-known Bitcoin mixer.

In a statement to CoinDesk, BitoPro acknowledged the cyberattack and detailed its emergency response measures. The exchange emphasized that user assets remained unaffected, with all deposit, withdrawal, and trading functions operating normally. BitoPro assured that its virtual asset reserves are sufficient to cover the losses, and user assets are completely secure.

The exchange is collaborating with a third-party cybersecurity firm to conduct a thorough investigation into the hack. BitoPro plans to publish new hot wallet addresses soon to enhance transparency. The majority of its assets are stored in offline cold wallets to safeguard against similar incidents in the future.

BitoPro, operated by BitoGroup, has been a significant player in the crypto market since 2018. The exchange supports major cryptocurrencies paired with the Taiwanese dollar and has a strong presence in the region's crypto trading landscape.