Hackers strike again! Over $31 million drained off Alphapo crypto platform

• The stolen tokens included Bitcoin, Ethereum and TRON.
• A leak of private keys may have led to the hacking incident. Investigation was underway.

Crypto assets worth more than $31 million were hacked from hot wallets over the crypto payment processor Alphapo on 23 July.

The stolen tokens included Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum [ETH] and TRON [TRX]. Since the number of stolen Bitcoin tokens was uncertain, the amount of theft may even be higher.

DeDotFi shared the details on Twitter on the same day when the hacking incident took place. It suggests that a leak of private keys led to the hacking incident.

? Alphapo Hot Wallet Hacked ?

Over $31,000,000 stolen, with reports suggesting up to ~$100 million.

Hot wallet was hacked on Ethereum, Tron and BTC. Stolen funds were swapped and distributed among various EOAs.

?: Here are the details of the incident ? pic.twitter.com/bLeCLJvH6G

— De.Fi ?️ Web3 Antivirus (@DeDotFiSecurity) July 23, 2023

Hackers first converted the stolen funds into ETH. Later, they routed these funds through Avalanche and Bitcoin. This makes it difficult for investigators to trace the transaction history.

Alphapo is a payment processor that allows for quick transactions in more than 30 digital assets. It also caters to a wide variety of fiat currencies. The processor primarily serves as the cryptocurrency gateway for several gambling platforms, including HypeDrop, Ignition, and Bovada.

HypeDrop, one of Alphapo’s major clients, immediately ceased processing all crypto transactions, following the security incident.

? An update!

We apologize for any inconvenience caused recently by the ongoing deposit and withdrawal issues. Please know that your HypeDrop funds are safe, but we encountered an issue on the cryptocurrency provider’s side.

Once the provider’s operations resume, processing…

— HypeDrop (@HypeDrop) July 23, 2023

HypeDrop highlighted to its users the continued challenges with BTC, ETH, and TRX withdrawals, in addition to ETH and TRX deposits. The company was actively working with its provider to remedy the difficulties and return operations to normalcy. It assured its customers about the safety of its funds.

Security concerns haunt crypto industry

The Alphapo crypto hack has revived security concerns within the cryptocurrency industry, warning market stakeholders of the ever-present possibility of disastrous crypto attacks. As cryptocurrency is growing more popular, more hackers are targeting payment processors and exchanges to exploit system vulnerabilities.

We should also not underestimate the importance of such crypto hacks in shaping the rather adversarial attitude of regulatory organizations towards crypto payment processors and exchanges.

Compliance with existing rules, as well as the implementation of additional protections, will be crucial for crypto platforms for long-term operations. For a long time, industry stakeholders have emphasized the importance of actively engaging with regulators to build comprehensive security standards that protect consumers without undermining innovation.