Poloniex is resuming operations following a recent hack of exchange hot wallets. Image by Rafael Henrique, Adobe Stock.
Cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex announced today that it will begin gradually resuming withdrawal and deposit services starting November 30. This comes after the platform suffered a major hack on November 10 resulting in an estimated $100 million loss.
In a recent X post, Poloniex said it will first re-enable deposits and withdrawals for TRX, the native token of the Tron blockchain founded by Justin Sun. Tron support will go live at 2 AM UTC on November 30. Over the next two weeks, Bitcoin, Ether, Tether, and additional cryptocurrencies will be reintroduced on a phased schedule to ensure the safety of user funds.
Precautions After Poloniex Hack
Poloniex advised users to only deposit to the newly updated wallet addresses once live, warning that funds sent to old addresses may not be credited. The exchange likely implemented new wallets as a precaution following the exploits.
Poloniex Announcement:
Our deposit and withdrawal services will gradually resume from November 30th, 2023, at 02:00 (UTC).
We’ll implement a phased approach starting with enabled TRX deposits and withdrawals, followed by BTC, ETH, USDT, and more within the next two weeks.… pic.twitter.com/yKFZSQvnJr
— Poloniex Exchange (@Poloniex) November 29, 2023
Upcoming Airdrop for Poloniex Users
In a move to restore confidence, Poloniex also announced an upcoming airdrop for users who keep holdings on the exchange. The airdrop, developed together with HTX DAO, will calculate user balances on December 1st and distribute tokens sometime in December.
While Poloniex did not reveal further details yet, it noted that the airdrop tokens will come from “a premium project” soon to be listed on the exchange.
Tron Transactions First to Be Re-Enabled
The choice to re-enable Tron first is unsurprising given Poloniex’s close ties to Justin Sun. Poloniex is one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges, launched in 2014. It was acquired by Circle in 2018. The Tron founder assisted in acquiring Poloniex from Circle in 2019 and is an investor in the exchange.
We are offering a 5% white hat bounty to the Poloniex hacker. Please return the funds to the following ETH/TRX/BTC wallets. We will give you 7 days to consider this offer before we engage law enforcement.
ETH Wallet: 0x176F3DAb24a159341c0509bB36B833E7fdd0a132 TRX:…
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) November 10, 2023
Sun’s crypto ventures have suffered four hacks in the past two months totaling close to $240 million in losses, including both Poloniex and HTX seeing funds drained by hackers. Despite the repeated hits, Sun has provided assurances that impacted user funds will be reimbursed across the affected platforms.
The Poloniex hack impacted the crypto industry at large, with the stolen funds causing price impacts on several assets. For example, $20 million worth of Tron was purchased by the hacker, temporarily pumping TRX prices over 25%.
Hacks Still a Threat for Crypto Exchanges
Despite security improvements, hacks are a constant threat to cryptocurrency exchanges. A recent report from The Money Mongers revealed the total number of cryptocurrency hacks in 2023 has already reached 330. These breaches have resulted in losses of $2.1 billion so far this year, equaling approximately $269,000 lost per hour to crypto hacking incidents.
Technical vulnerabilities and lax security practices make exchanges prime targets for cybercriminals. Many urge exchanges to adopt more robust security frameworks and internal controls to protect user funds.
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