Hong Kong-based Mixin
Network, a blockchain protocol aiming to tackle scalability challenges, has
fallen victim to a massive cyberattack resulting in losses nearing $200
million. The cyber heist, which is considered the largest of its kind this
year, has sent shockwaves through the crypto space, raising significant
concerns about the security of digital assets.

Mixin, which
facilitates the transfer of digital assets, was compromised when hackers targeted
its network’s cloud service provider. This attack resulted in a loss of
approximately $200 million worth of cryptocurrency. Mixin reported the breach
on X (formerly known as Twitter), stating that user withdrawals were
temporarily halted to contain the situation.

[Announcement] In the early morning of September 23, 2023 Hong Kong time, the database of Mixin Network’s cloud service provider was attacked by hackers, resulting in the loss of some assets on the mainnet. We have contacted Google and blockchain security company @SlowMist_Team…

— Mixin Kernel (@MixinKernel) September 25, 2023

Mixin’s Loss Shakes
Hong Kong’s Crypto Sector

Based in Hong Kong,
Mixin has a user base of one million individuals who utilize its services for digital asset transfers. As of July, Mixin had a portfolio of
the top 100 assets with a combined value exceeding $1.1 billion. During that
same month, the network recorded an impressive 663,489 unique monthly Bitcoin
(BTC) transactions and 179,647 ether (ETH) transactions, Coindesk reported.

In addition, Mixin’s
security incident, which occurred on September 23, is the most significant cyber theft in 2023 to date, as reported by the blockchain research firm Elliptic. Nonetheless, the cryptocurrency exchange has
reassured its clients that asset transfers remain unaffected, and it has pledged to
reopen its services once vulnerabilities are fully addressed. Mixin has also
promised to unveil a comprehensive solution for dealing with the lost assets.

Other Crypto Firm Faces Hack

In July 2023, there was an unprecedented
surge in cyberattacks and exploits that resulted in losses exceeding a
staggering $303 million, Finance Magnates reported. This figure, which marks the highest year-to-date total,
was disclosed by Certik, a security platform specializing in blockchain
technology.

This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.