Coinsbuy Exchange Hit by $8 Million Two-Blockchain Attack

Coinsbuy Exchange Suffers Major Security Breach

On August 9, cryptocurrency exchange Coinsbuy lost over $8 million due to a sophisticated coordinated attack that exploited vulnerabilities across TRON and Ethereum. Blockchain researchers have traced the incident back to a single actor, linking the operations of both blockchains.

Details of the Attack

The attack began with a transaction of just 5 USDT, which quickly escalated into the draining of 6.04 million USDT from eight TRON wallets within an hour. Concurrently, three Ethereum wallets were emptied, resulting in the theft of 1.89 million USDT and 77 ETH. Funds were swapped on the 1inch platform through a newly created wallet.

This coordinated breach was made possible through a cross-chain swapper known as Bridgers, connecting the activities on both TRON and Ethereum into a unified operation.

Funds Routed Through FixedFloat

Approximately 79% of the stolen funds were funneled through the instant exchange platform FixedFloat, utilizing around 50 single-use addresses to obfuscate the trail. In a separate response, ChangeNOW managed to freeze a six-figure sum upon intervention from Specter Investigations.

Continued Investigation and Response

To date, about 282 ETH, valued at around $542,000, remains unspent across five addresses. Coinsbuy reportedly replenished the drained wallets to nearly the same levels as before the attack, suggesting they do not believe their private keys were compromised.

As of now, the details surrounding the attack vector remain unclear, and Coinsbuy has not made any public statements regarding the incident. This breach contributes to the ongoing challenges facing the cryptocurrency industry, which had already reported nearly $972 million in thefts up through late July.

CoinDesk has reached out to Coinsbuy for further comments on the incident.