Crypto Exchange Phemex Hacked for $29M

Crypto derivatives exchange Phemex suffered a significant security breach, resulting in over $29 million theft.

In a tweet earlier today, Blockchain security firm Cyvers alerted the crypto community that hackers have successfully drained over $29 million worth of digital assets from the exchange’s hot wallets.

🚨ALERT🚨Hey @Phemex_official, Our systems have detected multiple suspicious transactions involving your hot wallets across several chains.
Over $29M worth of digital assets have been transferred by suspicious addresses on chains including $BNB, $ETH, $OP, $POL, $BASE, and $ARB.… pic.twitter.com/1bFlRmlLUz

— 🚨 Cyvers Alerts 🚨 (@CyversAlerts) January 23, 2025

According to Cyvers, the incident involves multiple blockchains, including BNB Chain, Ethereum, Optimism, Polygon, Base, and Arbitrum. The attackers, operating from suspicious addresses, initiated unauthorized transfers of various crypto assets.

Following the theft, the attackers started swapping the stolen funds for Ether to withdraw their proceeds.

Withdrawals Suspended 

Phemex later confirmed the attack. While it did not give a detailed analysis of the incident, it noted that withdrawals have been temporarily paused to ensure security and “conduct an emergency inspection and strengthen wallet services.” According to the exchange, withdrawals will be restored soon. 

To ensure security, withdrawals have been temporarily suspended while we conduct an emergency inspection and strengthen wallet services. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Withdrawals will be restored soon.

Phemex and the development team apologize for the disruption.… https://t.co/Gsqp2Fx7HP

— Phemex (@Phemex_official) January 23, 2025

It also assured users that a compensation plan is underway.

Federico Variola, the exchange’s CEO, also commented on the situation, assuring users that the platform’s cold wallets remain safe.

Further details and updates are expected to be released shortly. 

Crypto Hack Tops $2.2B

Security exploits have been one of the most prevalent issues facing the crypto sector. A report by analytics firm Chainalysis revealed that funds stolen from crypto platforms rose by 21% from 2023 to 2024, amounting to $2.2 billion.

Among the largest hacks are Japanese crypto exchange DMM, which suffered a $305 million hack in May, and Indian exchange WazirX, which lost $235 million in July. 

The analytics firm also revealed that hacks linked to North Korea more than doubled to $1.3 billion from 2023 to 2024.

It said over $1 billion has been stolen from crypto platforms for four straight years to 2024. The number of crypto hacking incidents also increased from 282 in the year before to 303 in 2024.