It’s happened again, folks. Another crypto hack is in the books and a lot of money has been stolen. This time, the victim is a digital currency platform known as Qubit Finance, a defi trading arena. The company is reporting losses of approximately $80 million at the time of writing.
Qubit Finance Has Lost Quite a Bit of Money
As we have seen from recent reports, crypto crime is growing like crazy, and it makes sense when one looks at how well some of the leading digital currencies are doing. Bitcoin, for example, is presently trading for around $37,000 per unit, which is a major drop from the $68,000 it was trading for in late November of last year. Still, it’s quite large compared with where it’s been in the past. Several other digital assets have followed suit, and it appears cybercriminals are beginning to take notice.
In addition, Chainalysis – a blockchain analysis firm – has released many new reports suggesting that crypto crime has increased in recent years, with about $9 billion in digital funds being laundered last year alone. The company has also published a report suggesting that several billion have also been stolen from various exchanges, and that the number far outdoes anything the firm has seen before.
Qubit Finance explained that the hack occurred on January 27 at 5pm EST. Presently, the company is known for providing “bridges” between blockchains, meaning it connects to other blockchain systems and allows traders to diversify their portfolios by positioning their assets on various networks. Primarily, Qubit operates a bridge between both Ethereum and the Binance Smart Chain (BSC).
According to an analysis produced by CertiK, a blockchain auditing firm, the hacker was able to exploit a security flaw in the trading platform’s smart contract code. This flaw allowed the hacker to deposit no Ethereum, yet they were able to withdraw the $80 million that is now being reported as stolen.
In the analysis, CertiK wrote:
As we move from an Ethereum-dominant world to a truly multi-chain world, bridges will only become more important. People need to move funds from one blockchain to another, but they need to do so in ways that are not susceptible to hackers who can steal more than [$80 million].
This Has Happened a Lot
At press time, Qubit Finance is posting messages on social media designed to appease the hacker. The company is trying to negotiate with the figure as a means of minimizing the company’s losses and getting customers’ money back.
Defi, while popular, has proven heavily vulnerable to attacks like these in recent years given that the platforms in the defi space often do not implement heavy governance, hence the name “defi.” Thus, it can be argued that these firms invoke less security and leave funds less protected than centralized exchanges.
