Crypto.com CEO confirms 400 accounts were compromised in recent hack

Quick Take

  • The Crypto.com CEO acknowledged the hack but said customer funds were not in any danger.
  • He added that the funds stolen were immaterial to the business.

Update: Crypto.com has released a report stating that 4,836.26 ETH ($15.2 million), 443.93 BTC ($18.6 million), and approximately $66,200 in other cryptocurrencies were stolen during the breach. This brings the total theft to $33.8 million.

Following the attack, Crypto.com says it will strengthen its security infrastructure with the introduction of a Worldwide Account Protection Program (WAPP). According to the exchange, WAPP will include security layers to protect against phishing attacks as well as a multi-factor authentication (MFA) system to replace the existing two-factor authentication protocol (2FA).

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek has confirmed that the crypto exchange did suffer a security breach, as reported this week. Appearing on Bloomberg TV on Wednesday, Marszalek stated that about 400 accounts were affected in the hack.

Marszalek stated that the attackers carried out unauthorized withdrawals from the affected accounts but that the company was able to swiftly stem the tide.

“We very quickly stopped it, we paused withdrawals, we fixed it [and] we were back online in about 13/14 hours and during the same day, all the accounts that were affected very fully reimbursed, so there was no loss of customer funds,” Marszalek stated, during the interview.

THE SCOOP

Keep up with the latest news, trends, charts and views on crypto and DeFi with a new biweekly newsletter from The Block's Frank Chaparro

By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

The Block Crypto had previously reported that security experts and on-chain analysts had traced suspicious withdrawals from Crypto.com to the tune of about $33 million. The theft is believed to consist of at least 4,830 ETH ($15 million) and 444 BTC ($18.5 million).

Marszalek did not confirm the exact monetary value of the theft, stating that the exchange is still working on a post-mortem on the security breach and that the result will be published on the company’s blog in the next few days.

The Crypto.com CEO did dismiss any significant financial fallout from the breach. Referring to the amount stolen by the hackers, Marszalek said that the number was “not particularly material” given the size of the business.


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Osato is a news reporter at The Block as part of the crypto ecosystems team that focuses on DAO governance, staking, blockchain layers, and DeFi. He was previously a news reporter at Cointelegraph. Based in Lagos, Nigeria, he enjoys crosswords, poker, and attempting to beat his Scrabble high score. Follow him on Twitter at @OsatoNomayo.