- Cryptocurrency payment platform Alphapo has suffered a loss of at least $31 million from its hot wallets
- Investigations are ongoing, and a possible leak of private keys may have caused the hack
- Decentralized finance protocol Conic Finance also experienced security breaches with losses of $3.26 million in Ether
Security experts reported that Alphapo, a cryptocurrency payment platform, suffered a staggering loss of at least $31 million from its hot wallets. This included Ether, TRON, and Bitcoin. The actual amount of Bitcoins stolen remains uncertain. This has led to the possibility that the figures could be even higher.
Investigations into the incident are ongoing. However, on-chain sleuth ZachXBT discovered that the hackers pilfered the funds on the Ethereum network and subsequently exchanged them for ETH before transferring them to the Avalanche and Bitcoin blockchains. Moreover, DeDotFi’s security team suggests that the hack might have resulted from a leak of private keys. This has further complicated the matter.
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Alphapo is well-known as a payment processor offering instant transactions in more than 30 digital assets and facilitating balances in various fiat currencies. Among its clientele are several gambling platforms, including HypeDrop, Ignition, and Bovada. In the wake of the hack, HypeDrop, a mystery box platform associated with Alphapo, halted processing crypto transactions. The platform addressed its users on Twitter, assuring them that their funds were safe but acknowledging issues with deposits and withdrawals due to the hack. HypeDrop expressed confidence in the cryptocurrency provider’s ability to resume operations and credited deposits accordingly once that happens.
Despite the incident, Alphapo’s spokesperson refrained from making any direct comments but informed Cointelegraph that the company was gradually reinstating deposits and withdrawals for specific batches of currencies. Users were urged not to send funds to the old deposit addresses, and any accidental deposits to those addresses would undergo additional verification.
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Apart from Alphapo, the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Conic Finance also encountered security breaches recently. The protocol experienced two attacks within a short span of time. In the first exploit, approximately $3.26 million worth of Ether was stolen, with almost the entire amount being sent to a single Ethereum address in a single transaction. Shortly after, a second incident occurred, which the protocol detailed in a post-mortem report. The second attack utilized a variant of a sandwich attack, targeting the protocol’s pools and yielding the attacker around $300,000.
Both incidents serve as stark reminders of the persistent security risks faced by the cryptocurrency and DeFi sectors. Such vulnerabilities call for continued vigilance heightened security measures, and prompt responses from the industry to safeguard users and investors from potential losses. As the cryptocurrency space continues to evolve, emphasis on security protocols and robust risk management will remain crucial to ensure the integrity and stability of these financial systems.
