HTX Resumes Bitcoin and Ether Services After $30 Million Hack

Digital asset exchange HTX has resumed deposits and withdrawal services for major cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and others after it was drained for $30 million.

In an announcement on Nov 26, the exchange said services have been restored for certain virtual assets via the ERC20 blockchain adding that many more services will resume shortly.

“Dear HTX users, we are pleased to announce that HTX has resumed the withdrawal services for certain cryptos via ERC20 blockchain, including HOT, LINK, MANA, NEXO, PRO, LITH, FTT, LOOKS, SUSHI, FET, MATIC, SNX, MKR, AAVE, LINA…”

The statement also pointed to the planned airdrop meant to boost community participation after it suffered a major hack. It says the airdrop is targeted at all users who hold Rockets to be determined as 1 USDT and holding top assets like HT, BTC, ETH will have ticket values multiplied.

As the hack sparked a huge controversy, the exchange noted that its vast reserves would cover all losses and will continue to investigate and beef up security to prevent a similar infamous event in the future.

“Since its founding, HTX has remained committed to a policy of 100% reserves, ensuring our capacity to meet the withdrawal needs of all users.”

Justin Sun throws more light

In a related development, the exchange’s advisor Justin Sun wrote in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter)  that major cryptocurrencies including BTC, ETH, TRX, and USDT are now fully functional on the platform and expects restoration all all others by next week.

#Bitcoin (#BTC) deposits and withdrawals have now been fully reinstated on @HTX_Global. As of now, all major currencies including BTC, ETH, TRX, and USDT are available for complete deposit and withdrawal functionality on HTX.

— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) November 26, 2023

“The majority of the work has been accomplished, and we aim to restore the remaining currencies gradually in the next few days, with all work expected to be completed by next week.”

Sun has been in the news following major hacks of platforms he has an interest in, raising security concerns with many users urging for more safety measures.

Four unfortunate events

Last week, HTX formerly Houbi was hacked for about $30 million becoming another Sun-related platform to suffer an attack following HECO bridge, Poloniex, and a previous HTX hack.

HTX suffered a major hack alongside a similar occurrence on the HECO bridge resulting in over $86 million in losses. Sun acknowledged the incident on both platforms on X stating that all losses will be fully compensated, suspending deposits and withdrawals while noting that full services will be restored once the risks have been identified and addressed.

Earlier this month, crypto exchange Poloniex also suffered a massive $100 million hack that caused a stir within the wider community with the exchange also assuring to restore all losses. The platform offered a white hat bounty of $10 million for an easy return of assets after noting that the identity has been found and will initiate criminal proceedings.