Hackers steal tokens worth USD 570 million from Binance-linked blockchain

BENGALURU:  Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, has to suspend the blockchain ‘BNB Chain’, as hackers stole tokens worth USD 570 million. The crypto exchange said a cross-chain bridge that links with the BNB Chain was hit. Cross-chain bridges enable the transfer of tokens from one blockchain to another. Though Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said the issue has been contained and funds are safe, this hack raises serious questions about the safety of users’ money.

According to data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, a total of around USD 1.4 billion has been lost to breaches on cross-chain bridges since the beginning of this year. BNB Chain in a blog post said that decentralised chains are not designed to be stopped, but by contacting community validators one by one, they were able to stop the incident from spreading.

“It was not that easy as BNB Smart Chain has 26 active validators at present and 44 in total in different time zones. This delayed closure, but we were able to minimise the loss,” it said. “Bridges allow blockchains with different cryptocurrencies to communicate with each other and trade without the need for an intermediary,” said Punit Agarwal, founder and CEO, KoinX.

Agarwal added that BNB Chain, originally known as Binance Chain, was first developed by the cryptocurrency in 2019. Dileep Seinberg, Founder and CEO, MuffinPay, Bill Payment & Utility Crypto said there is a need for control and the development of a system that is both centralised and decentralised.

“Cryptocurrencies are not 100% immune. Such instances on a crypto blockchain are inevitable and may scare investors. However, the foundation more often than not takes the necessary actions and finds a way out,” he added.