Crypto exchange EXMO hacked, appears to have lost $10.5 million worth of funds

Quick Take

  • EXMO, one of the popular crypto exchanges in Ukraine and Russia, has suffered a hack.
  • According to The Block Research, EXMO appears to have lost $10.5 million worth of funds.

EXMO, one of the popular crypto exchanges in Ukraine and Russia, has suffered a hack.

The hacker has withdrawn about 5% of EXMO's assets from its "hot" wallets, the exchange said Monday, without disclosing a specific amount of the loss.

According to The Block's research analyst Igor Igamberdiev, EXMO appears to have lost $10.5 million worth of funds.

The exchange has provided the list of stolen coins along with their addresses, and the analysis shows that most of the funds have been sent to Poloniex. The lost coins include bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), XRP, ether classic (ETC), Tether (USDT), and Zcash (ZEC).

In terms of units, 292 BTC (about $6.5 million) has been stolen, and transactions of another 18.5 BTC ($415,000) are waiting to get confirmed in the Bitcoin mempool, said Igamberdiev. The rest of the units include 867 ETH (about $521,900), 476,521 XRP (about $247,700), 20,651 ETC ($126,800), 50,000 USDT ($50,000) and 39,285 ZEC ($2.7 million).

As for movements to Poloniex, Igamberdiev said all of the stolen ETH, XRP, and USDT has been sent to the exchange. 

EXMO said it is still investigating the incident and is asking other exchanges to block all accounts connected with the affected wallets. The exchange further said that if any user is affected, will "completely" cover them.

EXMO went on to say that its "cold" wallets are safe. Cold wallets are offline vaults, while hot wallets are online wallets connected to the internet.

Meanwhile, the exchange has stopped all deposits and withdrawals. EXMO, headquartered in the U.K., said it has reported the hack to the London police.

Earlier this month, EXMO received temporary registration from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority, allowing it to continue operating until July 9, 2021, pending the regulator's determination of their application.


© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.