Binance announced that a bridge connecting the Binance Smart Network (BSC) was the target of the attack, allowing hackers to transfer BNB coins outside the system. The bridges of the type that was attacked are tools that enable the transfer of coins from one blockchain network to another. A series of attacks against such bridges have recently been reported. According to research firm Chainalysis, bridge breaches have led to the loss of $1.4 billion since the beginning of the year. Binance, the world’s largest crypto trading platform in terms of trading volume, did not share further details about the hack.
Binance also stated that they are working with experts to freeze the creation of new blocks on the network, and freeze the processing of investments, while a team of developers investigates the hack. “The issue is under control,” the company’s CEO Chengfeng Zahao said in a tweet on Twitter. “Your funds are safe. We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide further updates accordingly.”
According to estimates, $570 million worth of BNB coins were stolen – earlier today it was estimated that $100 million worth of coins were stolen.
The company’s spokesperson stated that it was able to freeze $7 million worth of coins with the help of its security partners. After the publication, the value of the coin plunged more than 3% to a price of $285.36, according to data collected by CoinMarketCap.
BNS is a network developed by Binance in 2019. Like other blockchains, it includes a local currency called BNB that can be traded or used in games and other applications.
Since the beginning of the year, about 2 trillion dollars have been erased from the value of the crypto market, after the price rally in 2020 and 2021.