Another Asian crypto exchange hacked

While the Asian region is famous for its crypto acceptance and advanced technology, it is also quite infamous for numerous crypto exchange hacks that have occurred over the years. According to recent reports, however, it doesn't seem like the trend of targeting Asian cryptocurrency exchanges is over.

Vietnam’s crypto exchange suffers a security breach

News from Vietnam has refreshed the concerns regarding the security of crypto exchanges, as a smaller exchange known as VinDAX got hacked recently, losing half a million dollars in crypto in the process. The exchange has mostly conducted token sales of lesser-known projects, providing those interested in them with a platform where they can buy easily buy or sell them.

According to the admin of the exchange's Telegram channel, the breach happened three days ago. Another claim that has emerged from an unknown source says that the exchange has lost its $500,000 through 23 different cryptos. However, this information was not confirmed by the officials of the exchange.

However, the previously mentioned administrator of the exchange's Telegram channel did point out that the exchange has already made a full recovery from the attack.

About VinDAX

As mentioned, VinDAX is a small platform, but well-known among those who were looking for a place to buy and sell lesser-known cryptocurrencies, as well as participate in little-known token sales. The exchange has its own Launchpad, which is regularly holding IEOs.

In fact, it is holding a token sale right now, with its client being a project known as MyFie. Meanwhile, the exchange also has five additional projects that are waiting for their turn to launch their cryptocurrencies in the near future.

According to SimilarWeb, a web analytics firm, VinDAX had nearly 400,000 visitors throughout the month of October. More than half of them — roughly around 65%— were estimated to be Indian citizens. Another information that has emerged following the hack is that the exchange had contacted the projects whose coins were stolen, asking for additional funds. More precisely, the exchange has asked to lend the amount of the tokens and coins equal to 30-100% of the stolen amount.

The purpose of the tokens and coins, according to the exchange's email to the projects, is to address the users' withdrawal requests.

Other hacks in 2019

Meanwhile, this particular hack is the seventh major breach in 2019, while the stolen amount of cryptocurrencies equals to $100 million in 2019. However, the amount stolen in total is much higher, sitting at $1.39 billion.

One of the largest hacks from 2019 happened several months ago, in July of this year, when hackers breached a Japan-based crypto exchange known as Bitpoint. The incident resulted in a loss equal to $32 million. This exchange also saw the theft of several different cryptocurrencies, the most notable of which was XRP, the third-largest coin by market cap.

Only a month before that, in June, an exchange called Bitrue, which operates in Singapore, also got hacked. This time, hackers managed to steal around $4.3 million, with the most notable tokens being XRP and Cardano. Around the same time, there was also the well-known hack of Binance, while other exchanges that were affected by similar attacks include Cryptopia, Bithumb, and DragonEX.

Author: Ali Raza for Crypto-Rating.com