Alphapo Hack: $23 Million Lost in Cyber Attack on Payment Processor

Reportedly, Alphapo, a payment processor, suffered a significant cyber attack resulting in the loss of more than $23 million worth of various coins and tokens. The attack was brought to light by crypto “detective” ZachXBT on July 23. The hackers took advantage of vulnerabilities in Alphapo’s security measures, gaining access to the platform’s hot wallets for Ethereum, Tron, and Bitcoin, which they then emptied, causing substantial losses.

To cover their tracks, the hackers used the stolen tokens to purchase additional Ethereum and then transferred the newly acquired Ethereum to the Avalanche network, making it difficult to trace the origin of the stolen funds. Meanwhile, the stolen Bitcoins were quickly moved to a different address, complicating efforts to recover the digital assets.

The repercussions of the hack extended beyond Alphapo, affecting several crypto services, including HypeDrop, Bovada, and Ignition. Users of these services encountered difficulties in withdrawing their cryptocurrencies due to the breach.

HypeDrop issued an official statement acknowledging the hack and informed its users that they are actively working to address the issues arising from the incident. However, they are currently experiencing difficulties with BTC, ETH, and TRX withdrawals, as well as deposits for ETH and TRX.

To aid in resolving the situation, ZachXBT identified the wallet addresses associated with the $23 million hack, though the full extent of the Bitcoin theft remains uncertain as the investigation continues.

It’s worth noting that hacks are not uncommon in decentralized finance (DeFi). PeckShield, a blockchain intelligence firm, has previously recorded over 395 exploits, leading to a cumulative loss of more than $479.4 million.

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