Hackers Steal Over $80 Million from Orbit Bridge Cross-Chain Platform

The cross-chain platform Orbit Bridge has fallen victim to a hacking incident, resulting in the theft of crypto assets exceeding $80 million.

Unauthorized access was detected on December 31.

?Urgent?

Dear Orbit Bridge Users,

An unidentified access to Orbit Bridge, a decentralized Cross-chain protocol, was confirmed on Dec-31-2023 08:52:47 PM +UTC.

Further information regarding the issue will be updated.

— Orbit Chain (@Orbit_Chain) January 1, 2024

The suspicious movement of funds was first spotted by user Kgjr. According to his observations, the initial transfers from the protocol to a “fresh” wallet included:

• $30 million in USDT;
• $10 million in DAI;
• $10 million in USDC;
• 231 wBTC (>$10 million);
• 9500 ETH (>$22 million).

The developers of Orbit Chain have reached out to major cryptocurrency exchanges, requesting them to freeze the stolen assets.

The Orbit Chain team has requested major global cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze stolen assets.

— Orbit Chain (@Orbit_Chain) January 1, 2024

“Additionally, we are collaborating with international security experts, including Theori, to address the issues and monitor the funds in real-time. We are also negotiating closer cooperation with 26 global companies specializing in security,” project representatives stated.

Furthermore, Orbit Chain representatives assured that they are working closely with law enforcement agencies. 

On January 2, the developers confirmed that the stolen funds remain unmoved and also published a list of addresses associated with the perpetrators.  

In 2023, the cryptocurrency industry lost $1.8 billion due to hacking and fraud.