BingX, Chelsea FC Sponsor, Faces $40M Hack Disguised as Maintenance

BingX, the Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, has suffered a loss of nearly $45 million in various cryptocurrencies after the draining of its hot wallets across 11 different blockchain networks.

The incident, which initiated shortly after 10 PM UTC on Thursday, was reported on X (formerly Twitter) with comments from both the security audit firm Peckshield and crypto analyst MartyParty noting the unusual outflows.

Initially, BingX did not confirm the extent of the loss; it instead notified users about “Temporary Wallet Maintenance” via a tweet on X. The linked notice did not address any security breach, merely advising users to “deposit or withdraw later.”

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Nevertheless, in a response to the earlier post, BingX’s Chief Product Officer, Vivien Lin, acknowledged that their “technical team detected abnormal network access, suspecting a hacker attack on BingX’s hot wallet.” According to Lin, this incident led to a “minor asset loss.”

The crypto security firm SlowMist, collaborating with BingX to track the flow of stolen funds, released a report estimating the total losses at approximately $44.7 million, with reports indicating that around $1 million of the stolen assets have been frozen.

Read more: New Chelsea FC sponsor BingX accused of holding 215K USDT ‘hostage’

In a subsequent tweet, Lin mentioned that BingX would cover the “minimal and manageable” losses, assuring users that they should expect withdrawal and deposit services to resume within 24 hours.

The breach occurred shortly after the conclusion of Singapore’s major cryptocurrency event, Token2049, where Lin had spoken the previous day. Reflecting on the discussions, she noted that security was emphasized as a crucial element for the industry’s progress.

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