Indodax Crypto Exchange Suspends Services After Alleged $22 Million Hack

Days after the FBI warned crypto investors about a rise in crypto-related attacks, an Indonesian exchange has reportedly been hacked. Ten-year old crypto exchange Indodax, headquartered in Bali, was breached by hackers on Wednesday. Blockchain security firm SlowMist estimates that around $22 million (roughly Rs. 184 crore) has been stolen by hackers, in the form of digital assets such as Bitcoin, Tron, Ether, Polygon, Tether, Shiba Inu, and Uniswap. The amount stolen is estimated to be up to $21.95 million (roughly Rs. 184.3 crore) according to the firm.

Following the analysis posted by SlowMist on X (formerly Twitter), research firm CertiK said the hackers compromised multiple internet-connected hot wallets to facilitate the theft of these assets.

Indodax posted a statement on X after the service went offline on Wednesday. “Our security team has discovered a potential security issue on our platform,” the handle @Indodax noted. “But don’t worry, we can assure you that your balance remains 100 percent safe both in crypto and rupiah,” the exchange said.

The platform is conducting an audit of its internal systems. During this ongoing maintenance, all services on the exchange remain suspended. “We are doing this process to ensure the security and comfort of your transactions. We will provide further updates as soon as the investigation is complete,” the firm said.

Research platform Arkham, Indodax’s treasury contains varied crypto tokens amounting to $408 million (roughly Rs. 3,426 crore). This means that the amount stolen is a notably small portion of its total holdings.

The centralised exchange, founded in 2014, primarily operates within the country.

Last week, the FBI warned crypto investors of the increasing danger posed by sophisticated North Korean hackers.

In July, Indian crypto exchange WazirX suffered a hack attack resulting in the theft of $230 million (roughly Rs. 1,900 crore). While WazirX has not confirmed who was responsible for executing the attack, its co-founder Nischal Shetty said that the pattern of the hack resembles that of North Korea’s infamous Lazarus Group.