Taiwanese trading firm Kronos Research hacked for estimated $25 million: ZachXBT

Quick Take

Kronos Research, a Taipei-based trading firm, market maker, and VC fund, was hacked after an attacker gained access to Kronos’s API keys, the company said in a post on X.
Blockchain researcher ZachXBT estimated the total loss at $25 million, which Kronos said does not reflect a significant portion of their equity.

Kronos Research, a trading, market making, and venture capital firm based in Taipei, experienced unauthorized access of its API keys on Saturday, the company said in a post on X, describing potential losses as "not a significant portion of our equity."

Blockchain researcher ZachXBT mapped recent rapid outflows from a wallet that summed to over $25 million worth of ether in a reply to Kronos's post, saying it looks like $25 million was stolen.

Kronos paused all trading following the event, which led to problems on Woo X, the exchange that was incubated by Kronos and on which Kronos serves as a key market maker. In a statement, Woo X reiterated that client funds are safe before announcing a temporary pause on certain asset pairs due to the loss of liquidity from Kronos's pause. Spot and perpetual trading and withdrawals have now resumed.

Kronos, in its post, said it aims to resume trading as soon as possible, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Block.