Kronos Research, a cryptocurrency research and trading company, announced an indefinite halt to trading services while conducting internal investigations into the theft of over 12,800 ETH
A hacker exploited a vulnerability in the API keys of the quantitative trading firm, Kronos Research, stealing over $26 million in cryptocurrency assets.
In a recent security incident on Nov. 19, Kronos Research announced that an unauthorized party accessed its API keys, potentially compromising user security.
Despite not reporting any losses from the breach, Kronos Research is taking a cautious approach by suspending its trading services.
“At present, we can confirm that the losses are about $26 million in crypto assets, and despite it being a sizable amount, Kronos remains in good standing. All losses will be covered internally, no partners will be affected”, the tweet stated
Following the Kronos Research breach, blockchain investigator ZachXBT discovered that funds were siphoned off to six different crypto wallets, totalling approximately $26 million.
ZachXBT’s investigation into the Kronos Research breach revealed that a single Kronos Research account made a series of transactions worth 2,780 Ether, 2,540 ETH, 2,549 ETH, 2,636 ETH, 4.93 ETH, and 2,507.52 ETH to six crypto wallet addresses, allegedly owned by the hacker.
In light of the Kronos Research security breach, the firm stated it expects a positive outcome from its internal investigation, despite suspending trading services:
“Potential losses are not a significant portion of our equity and we aim to resume trading as soon as possible.”
“We’re prioritizing our resources to resume servicing the exchanges and token projects we provide liquidity for. This is the first time since 2018 we’ve halted trading, and we are confident we will bounce back stronger than ever.”
Meanwhile, given the recent surge in the number of crypto hacks, investors should take extra caution when researching projects and deciding where to invest their money.
However, according to blockchain security firm CertiK, the third quarter of 2023 was the most damaging quarter for crypto.
Hackers have commonly used private key exploits, exit scams, and oracle manipulation to steal funds from crypto ecosystems, as revealed by CertiK’s statistics, showing security incidents in Q3 2023 leading to a loss of over $700 million in digital assets, surpassing the total amount lost in the first two quarters of the year combined.
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