FixedFloat suffers $26M hack in Bitcoin, Ether

• FixedFloat has confirmed a hack that resulted in the theft of at least $26 million worth of Bitcoin and Ether.
• The hack reflects the growing risks and challenges of on-chain cybersecurity in the crypto industry.

FixedFloat, a decentralized crypto exchange, has confirmed a hack that resulted in the theft of at least $26 million worth of Bitcoin and Ether. Since February 17, a number of users have complained on the exchange’s X page about stalled transactions and funds being lost. 

Shortly after it was originally reported on X (previously Twitter), the FixedFloat team acknowledged the attack. When the massive outflows started, the team put its services in maintenance mode and claimed it had “minor technical problems.”

According to on-chain statistics, on February 18, more than 1,728 Ether ETH worth around $5 million and more than 409 Bitcoin BTC worth about $21 million were siphoned off to suspicious addresses. In addition, the exchange’s website is currently displaying an error message on all pages.

FixedFloat said:

“We confirm that there was indeed a hack and theft of funds. We are not yet ready to make public comments on this matter, as we are working to eliminate all possible vulnerabilities, improve security, and investigate. Our service will be available again soon. We will provide details on this case a little later.”

FixedFloat is an automated cryptocurrency exchange that doesn’t require Know Your Customer (KYC) verifications or user registration. SEMrush statistics indicate that about 26% of their website traffic originates from the US. For Bitcoin transactions, the exchange interfaces with the Lightning Network.

On-chain Cybersecurity Challenges

A major issue that crypto projects deal with is on-chain cybersecurity. For example, Scam-as-a-service markets have targeted the Solana ecosystem, by providing drainers capable of performing bit-flip attacks.

Additionally, Chainalysis predicted that in 2023, ransomware payments will resume, focusing on infrastructure and prestigious organizations. A new research claims that through supply chain attacks, criminals, ranging from lone people to massive syndicates, made over $1 billion last year.

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