UPDATE 1 – Japanese Liquid Crypto Exchange Hit by Estimated $ 94 Million Hack

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* Hot targeted online wallets

* Last trade hit by hackers (adds details about theft)

LONDON, Aug. 19 (Reuters) – Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid said on Thursday it was hit by hackers in a theft estimated at more than $ 94 million, the latest crypto platform targeted by cybercriminals.

“We are sorry to announce that the #LiquidGlobal hot wallets have been compromised, we are moving assets into the cold wallet,” he said on Twitter here, adding that deposits and withdrawals were on hold.

Liquid later said he was following the movement of assets and working with other exchanges to freeze and recover funds.

Hot or hot digital wallets are usually based online and designed to make it easier for users to access cryptocurrencies. Cold wallets are offline and more difficult to access – and therefore generally more secure.

London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic said the digital addresses that Liquid identified as belonging to the thief received over $ 94 million in digital coins here, including around $ 31 million in ether, $ 5 million. in bitcoin and $ 13 million in XRP.

Some $ 45 million worth of tokens connected to the Ethereum blockchain were also stolen, Elliptic said.

The hacker (s) convert some of these tokens into ether cryptocurrency through decentralized – peer-to-peer – exchanges, he added.

Elliptic said it is helping Liquid track stolen funds.

The CEO of Liquids did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The Poly Network crypto platform was at the center of a $ 610 million crypto theft last week, one of the largest on record. Days after the heist, the decentralized financial platform said the white hat hacker (s) had returned almost all of the loot.

Liquid is the latest exchange in Japan to be hit with a major breakage.

Tokyo-based exchange Mt.Gox collapsed in 2014 after losing half a billion dollars in hacks. Coincheck, also based in Tokyo, was hit by a $ 530 million burglary in 2018.

Founded in 2014, Liquid claims to serve millions of customers around the world. It operates in more than 100 countries, he said.

Reporting by Tom Wilson; edited by Kim Coghill and Jason Neely

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