Hackers Steal $4 Million in XRP and ADA from Singaporean Crypto Exchange Bitrue

Bitrue, a crypto exchange based in Singapore, has officially announced that it has had $3.9 million in XRP and $225,000 in Cardano (ADA) stolen in an early morning hack. In the first half of 2019, seven crypto exchanges including Bithumb and Binance suffered from high-profile security breaches, losing tens of millions of dollars in user funds. The Bitrue hacking attack brings the total number of exchanges hacked in 2019 to eight, raising concerns about the security of exchanges.

According to the Bitrue team, 100 percent of lost funds will be returned to users and it is working to ensure that a similar security breach does not happen in the future.

In comparison to past hacking attacks in 2019, the amount of crypto assets lost in the Bitrue hacking attack is relatively small at $4 million. The exchange has said that the stolen funds have been sent to Huobi, Bittrex, and ChangeNOW. The exchanges were able to track down some of the funds sent to the exchanges which have frozen funds connected to the hacking attack.

In various major crypto markets including South Korea, both non-government organizations and authorities have started to prioritize the dealing of the aftermath of an exchange hack over prevention. The Korea Blockchain Association requested all exchanges in South Korea to obtain insurance to protect user funds and compensate in a swift manner if a security breach occurs.