Binance-linked blockchain hacked for $570 million

• Blockchain connected to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, was hacked for $570 million.
• Hackers withdrew 2 million BNB tokens from the BNB Chain, formerly known as the Binance Smart Chain.
• This is the latest in a series of breaches to hit the cryptocurrency industry this year.

A blockchain connected to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has been hacked for $570 million, according to a Binance spokeswoman on Friday. This is the latest in a series of breaches to hit the cryptocurrency industry this year.

In a tweet, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said that tokens were taken from a blockchain “bridge” utilized in the BNB Chain, formerly known as the Binance Smart Chain.

Blockchain bridges are tools that facilitate the transfer of bitcoins between apps. In August, researcher Chainalysis reported that criminals had increasingly targeted cryptocurrencies, with around $2 billion taken in 13 separate attacks, the majority of which occurred this year.

The hackers took approximately $100 million worth of cryptocurrency, according to Zhao’s post. BNB Chain later revealed in a blog post that the hacker withdrew a total of 2 million BNB tokens, worth around $570 million.

The majority of BNB remained in the hacker’s digital wallet address, while approximately $100 million was “unrecovered,” according to an email from a Binance representative.

BNB Chain supports BNB, formerly known as Binance Coin, which CoinGecko ranks as the world’s fifth-largest coin with a market capitalization of approximately $45 billion.

Elliptic, a blockchain researcher based in London, told an international news agency that the hacker had created 2 million additional BNB tokens before transferring the majority of the funds to other cryptocurrencies, such as Tether and USD Coin.

According to a tweet, BNB Chain halted its blockchain for several hours before restoring operations around 06:30 GMT.

BNB Chain was able to prevent the problem from spreading by notifying the blockchain’s “validators” – the businesses or individuals responsible for verifying blockchain transactions, according to a blog post. It stated without elaboration that there are 44 validators spanning multiple time zones.

BNB Chain, which Binance describes as a “community-driven, open-sourced and decentralized ecosystem,” said it would develop a new “governance mechanism” and increase the number of validators to prevent future attacks.

In March, hackers stole over $615 million from Ronin Bridge, a blockchain bridge, in one of the greatest crypto heists on record, which the United States later connected to North Korean hackers.

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