Hackers seized a blockchain bridge developed by Harmony and swindled around 100 million dollars in cryptocurrency, the company announced.
Hackers steal $ 100 million in cryptocurrency
Harmony, a blockchain company, said in tweets Thursday night that hackers exploited the company’s ethereum and Binance Chain bridge in a $ 100 million theft. Harmony said the bitcoin bridge was not affected.
“Harmony is working around the clock as we continue our investigation with the FBI and several cyber security firms,” the company said in a follow-up tweet. It also posted the URL of the suspected perpetrator.
Harmony did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Washington Post.
The 1 / Harmony team has identified a theft that happened this morning on the Horizon Bridge of approx. $ 100 million. We have begun working with national authorities and forensic specialists to identify the culprit and recover the stolen funds.
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– Harmony 💙 (@harmonyprotocol) June 23, 2022
As the popularity of cryptocurrency has grown, it has become increasingly targeted by criminals. Cryptocrime reached a new all-time high of $ 14 billion last year, according to research from Chainalysis, up from $ 7.8 billion in 2020.
It is a challenging time for cryptocurrency, which saw an emphatic boom during the coronavirus pandemic when homebound Americans turned to investing, with many first-time investors fascinated by the promises of digital currency.
The technology sector has been hit hard as inflation and a jumble of other economic tensions drag down high-flying companies and speculative parts of the market. Technological layoffs have risen to their highest level since the first days of the pandemic, with crypto companies announcing 1,700 layoffs so far in June, according to Business Insider. Crypto giants such as Coinbase and Gemini have been among those cutting positions and introducing layoffs while warning of the potential for another “crypto winter” as the economy tends to recession.
“We look set to enter a recession after a 10+ year economic boom,” Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, said in a June 14 blog post announcing an 18 percent reduction for employees. “A recession could lead to another crypto winter, and could last for a longer period. In recent crypto winters, trading revenues (our largest source of income) have fallen significantly. Although it is difficult to predict the economy or the markets, we always plan the worst so that we can run the business through all environments. “
Bitcoin’s value has fallen nearly 70 percent from its highest level in November of more than $ 68,000. On Friday, it traded around $ 21,245.
As of Friday, the global cryptocurrency market was valued at around $ 929 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
