South Korean cryptocurrency exchange GDAC reported on Monday, April 10th, that it had been hacked for almost $13 million. The hackers transferred nearly 23% of GDAC’s total custodial assets, approximately $13 million worth of crypto, from the exchange’s hot wallet to an unidentified wallet.
The stolen assets included 61 Bitcoins, 350.5 Ether, 10 million wemix tokens, and 220,000 USDT. GDAC reported the incident to the Korea Internet and Security Agency and the Financial Intelligence Unit, as well as contacted the police. It has also requested that other exchanges prevent deposits from the stolen funds’ wallet addresses.
This is just the latest in a string of cryptocurrency hacks and exploits in the past year and a half. The largest was the $625 million hack of Axie Infinity’s Ronin bridge last year. On Sunday before, the decentralized finance protocol Sushi was exploited for $3.3 million.
In response to the growing number of cryptocurrency hacks and security breaches, Hong Kong’s upcoming crypto legislation proposes allowing crypto custodians to hold up to 2% of customer assets in hot wallets. Platforms must also hold insurance to cover custody risks.
Who Remembers Do Kwon and TerraUSD?
Meanwhile, South Korean authorities are continuing their efforts to extradite Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, who is currently in a Montenegrin prison after being caught trying to flee with a fraudulent passport. Kwon allegedly converted $69 million in stolen proceeds to Bitcoin, and authorities have asked Binance to prevent him from liquidating the proceeds.
Terraform Labs’ co-founder Daniel Shin has had his assets seized in South Korea, with authorities alleging that he and others extorted money from investors in TerraUSD and LUNA cryptocurrencies. Both tokens lost most of their value following large transactions in May 2022.
What to Do if Your Crypto Was Stolen?
Besides the regulator – reporting your case to authorities, you can employ experts to help you track and trace digital coins. In today’s digital world, Mastercard recognized the issue of missing funds and merged with CipherTrace to help customers trace their coins and find their final destination.
Contact us today to book a free consultation with our CipherTrace experts. In case an unregulated broker or your crypto scammed you went missing, we might be able to assist. Don’t give up!