Binance Halts Withdrawals of Coin Linked to Its Own Token, Cites Potential Hack
Binance on Friday halted withdrawals of a crypto coin linked to the Binance Coin token, citing a potential hack.
CEO Changpeng Zhao announced via Twitter that users won’t be able to withdrawal the staked Ankr protocol token, while the crypto exchange determines whether it was targeted by hackers. “Initial analysis is developer private key was hacked, and the hacker updated the smart contract to a more malicious one,” wrote Zhao. “Binance paused withdrawals a few hours ago.”
Binance also froze about $3 million that was moved to its centralized exchange by the hackers, Zhao added. The Reward Bearing Staked BNB coin, which gives Binance Coin owners a reward through staking, was sent plummeting in light of Zhao’s tweet, with the price falling by as much as 99.5% to trade around $1.50 within a span of 24 hours.
The exchange’s latest move comes amid a broader crypto space implosion which has spread from last month’s infamous FTX collapse, sparking investors’ fear of a crypto winter brought on by traders dumping riskier assets in light of economic uncertainty.
Information for this briefing was found via Twitter. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
