CoinEx to Resume Withdrawals of Certain Cryptos Following Security Breach

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx, that fell victim to a hack last week, is set to start its deposit and withdrawal services for major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), from September 21.

Per an official update on Wednesday, CoinEx said that it is working to complete the reconstruction and deployment of the wallet system, along with resuming withdrawals.

Furthermore, the exchange is upgrading the deposit addresses for all users. CoinEX warned users of losing tokens if deposited in the old addresses.

“Please DO NOT use any old deposit addresses you may have saved – The old addresses will NO LONGER work and assets sent to them will be permanently lost.”

The exchange temporarily suspended deposit & withdrawal services on September 13, for “added security” and said that it would resume only after a “thorough review.”

It further asked users to be patient as there may be a “large number of pending withdrawals” which might take longer than usual to process all withdrawal requests.

“We ensure the new wallet system is stable, and we will gradually resume deposit and withdrawal services for more assets.”

CoinEX promised users that post this upgrade, the company will work to improve security construction, risk systems, and invest more in the security field.

The Hack That Wiped Millions

CoinEx experienced a security breach on September 12, draining a substantial amount from its four hot wallets. The attackers reportedly drained around $53 million in assets, causing the exchange to halt its withdrawals.

Following the attack, the hackers were identified as the infamous North Korean-sponsored Lazarus Group. The firm, on September 15, stated in an open letter that the incident had taught a lesson and made it more responsible to ensure robust security.

Besides, CoinEx offered the attackers to negotiate with the exchange after suffering the breach. Later reports revealed that around $70 million was stolen from the platform — higher than the reported amount.

The exchange mentioned that the amount stolen represents only a small portion of its total assets.

“We have been committed to and implemented 100% reserves to safeguard user asset security,” the exchange said in the latest update.