Crypto exchange Remitano faced a series of substantial and suspicious withdrawals on September 14, prompting some blockchain experts to suspect a possible hack. In total, approximately $2.7 million worth of cryptocurrencies were withdrawn through these dubious transactions, news reports said.
Tether took swift action by freezing one of the addresses allegedly used by the attacker, safeguarding potentially $1.4 million worth of customer assets, the coverage added.
Around 12:45 pm, an established Remitano hot wallet initiated transfers to an address devoid of any prior transaction history. This unusual activity involved the movement of roughly $1.4 million in Tether, $208,000 in USD Coin, and 104,000 Ankr tokens (equivalent to $2,000 at the time) to the new address.
Cyvers, a blockchain analytics platform, promptly notified about these suspicious transactions. Blockchain security firm PeckerShield also issued similar alert on X, formerly Twitter.
In response to the incident, Tether took froze the address linked to the attacker, preventing any further movement of the $1.4 million drained from the platform. As of now, Remitano has not issued an official statement addressing the incident.
Remitano is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange and payment processor with a focus on emerging markets. It serves users across various countries, including Pakistan, Ghana, Venezuela, Cambodia, Kenya, Malaysia, India, South Africa, Vietnam, and Nigeria.
Throughout 2023, there has been a notable increase in cryptocurrency exchange breaches leading to the exposure of private keys and the theft of funds. U.S. authorities have attributed these attacks to the Lazarus Group, a cybercriminal organization suspected of having ties to the North Korean government. The group is alleged to have stolen $41 million from the gambling platform Stake on September 4th and drained $27 million from Coinex on September 12.
