Global cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx experienced a significant security breach on September 12, resulting in the theft of a substantial amount of digital assets used to support its operations.
While CoinEx has not disclosed the full financial impact of the breach, preliminary investigations reveal that Ethereum ($ETH), Tron ($TRON), and Polygon ($MATIC) cryptocurrencies were involved in the unauthorized transactions. Blockchain security firm PeckShield estimates the losses at around $43 million, with a more recent estimation from CertiK Alert raising the figure to $53 million.
Despite the breach, CoinEx assured its users that their assets remained unaffected and pledged full compensation to any parties suffering losses. To protect user assets, the exchange temporarily suspended all deposit and withdrawal services, which will only resume once CoinEx’s IT team confirms that all risks have been eliminated.
The details surrounding the incident remain limited, but CoinEx has committed to releasing a comprehensive report with a detailed timeline once investigations and incident response procedures are completed.
The incident has raised concerns about a possible connection to the Lazarus group, a North Korean state-backed hacking group implicated in several high-profile cryptocurrency thefts.
While CoinEx has not officially attributed the breach to Lazarus, blockchain investigator ZachXBT noted that one of the wallet addresses involved was previously associated with the group. Lazarus has been linked to thefts totaling millions of dollars from various cryptocurrency platforms, with the FBI warning of the group’s activities related to money laundering and the preparation of fund transfers.
