Crypto exchange BitMart was hacked for $391,000 this week as it struggles to retain its “severely understaffed” security team.
Founder Sheldon Xia revealed that the hack took place on Monday and is one of “numerous attacks” it’s dealing with.
Blockchain data firm Bitquery reports that $391,000 was stolen.
Xia claims BitMart is doing everything it can to safeguard assets while managing a security team that he’s struggling to retain and has been left understaffed by restructuring.
He claims threats from disgruntled users, as well as an ongoing conflict with former BitMart staff, including the company’s former head of marketing operations, “Elly,” have made it harder to persuade key technical staff to stay.
BitMart hacked after shutdown pivot
BitMart announced last July that it was going to shutter its operations by January 2027. Weeks later, the company stopped the shutdown in favor of a “restructuring plan.”
Read more: BitMart CPO resigns as insolvency speculation mounts
It’s now pursuing a court-sanctioned plan that will present a variety of exit options for users with funds locked up in the exchange.
Crypto hack season
Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin was also hacked this week. It claimed $36 million worth of crypto was stolen, while some reports noted it was over $46 million.
Xia claimed that BitMart’s findings suggest that Mercado Bitcoin was hacked by the same attacker(s) as BitMart.
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Binance was also hacked for $6.3 billion last week in a North Korea-linked attack that used fake job interviews and malware-laden software to steal Binance staff credentials.
North Korea denied responsibility, suggesting the FBI’s attribution is an attempt by the US to tarnish its image.
Hacked French bank named
Alongside the slew of crypto exchange hacks, crypto sleuth ZachXBT revealed today that a French bank managing $235 billion in assets was also attacked.
Crédit Mutuel Arkea lost over $133 million in an incident ZachXBT previously described as a potential cover-up.
The Big Whale co-founder Grégory Raymond claims his sources have revealed that it was specifically Crédit Mutuel Arkea’s Fortuneo bank that was affected.
Bad actors, who ZachXBT believes aren’t linked to North Korea, reportedly sent the dollar amounts to crypto exchanges where they were then converted into crypto and laundered.
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