South Korean Crypto Exchange GDAC Temporarily Suspends Deposits and Withdrawals after $14M Hack

UTC by Steve Muchoki · 3 min read
South Korean Crypto Exchange GDAC Temporarily Suspends Deposits and Withdrawals after $14M Hack
Photo: Unsplash

The GDAC hot wallet hack occurred on April 9 when the perpetrator transferred the asset to unidentified crypto addresses.

GDAC crypto exchange, a South Korean WEMIX-listed platform, has announced the loss of nearly $14 million in various digital assets through a system hack. As a result, GDAC has announced the suspension of trading services including crypto deposits and withdrawals from the exchange’s hot wallet. Among the affected coins include approximately 60.8 Bitcoins, 350.5 Ethers, 10M WEMIX, and 220k USDT. Reportedly, the stolen GDAC digital assets represent a total of 23 percent of the exchange’s custodial assets.

In a bid to recover the lost funds, GDAC has communicated with the respective authorities for a cyber investigation. Among them, GDAC has ostensibly requested technical support from the South Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA). Additionally, GDAC has requested crypto exchanges and DeFi platforms to freeze assets related to the hack.

“We ask those in charge of the exchange handling virtual assets to immediately block the deposit from the address where the withdrawal occurred….Currently, we are doing our best by collaborating with various organizations. We ask for your understanding that it is difficult to confirm the resumption point of deposit and withdrawal as the investigation is currently underway,” Seunghwan Han, CEO of GDAC, noted.

Reportedly, the GDAC hot wallet hack occurred on April 09, around 7 am when the perpetrator transferred the asset to unidentified crypto addresses.

GDAC and Exchange Hacks

Attacks in centralized exchanges remain a tricky situation in the cryptocurrency industry. With the Mt.Gox hack ten years ago getting resolved now, the fear of depositing money in centralized exchanges has significantly hampered trading services. Moreover, novice crypto traders have little understanding of the DeFi working mechanism and may get caught up in different chains.

Over the weekend, decentralized crypto exchange Sushiswap announced that its network was exploited for approximately $3.3 million. However, the company announced the recovery of about 300 ETH following a coordinated effort by the security team.

Perhaps the worst crypto exchange hacks happened on FTX a day before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States. Notably, FTX attackers drained nearly $663 million from the exchange’s Wallet. Binance, the largest crypto exchange by daily traded volume, has also been affected by network attacks.

Mid-October last year, the Binance-linked blockchain BNB chain was exploited for over $570 million. While the majority of the assets were recovered, Binance announced approximately $100 million was stolen in the process. Earlier last year, Crypto.com announced it was hacked for approximately $15 million.

Crypto Thrives

Despite the frequent DeFi and centralized exchanges attacks, the cryptocurrency market has showcased its resilience with a rebound from last year’s lows. According to the latest crypto market data, Bitcoin price is up approximately 81 percent this year to trade around $30,155 on Tuesday.

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