Recently, the cryptocurrency market has been hit hard, with two major theft cases exposed one after another, stirring market nerves and ringing alarm bells for industry security again.
The five-year-old BTC case: The sudden collapse of a leading mining pool
The first to cause a stir is an old case: the leading mining pool LuBian, which once controlled 6% of the Bitcoin network's hash power, was attacked by hackers in December 2020, resulting in the theft of 127,000 BTC. At current market prices, this asset is worth approximately $14.5 billion, directly leading to the shutdown of the mining pool.
When the incident was exposed, market panic spread, with retail investors concentrating on transferring assets, causing short-term turmoil, and Bitcoin's price fluctuated over 8% within 48 hours. Subsequent investigations revealed that the case not only involved system vulnerabilities but also suspected internal permission breaches, exposing the platform's dual shortcomings in technical protection and internal management.
Record-breaking ETH theft: The market shock behind $1.5 billion
With the aftershocks of the old case still unsettled, new shocks followed closely. A large cryptocurrency trading platform was recently attacked by hackers, resulting in the theft of over 400,000 ETH and an equivalent amount of stETH, with a total value exceeding $1.5 billion, breaking the record for a single cryptocurrency theft.
Although the platform urgently froze assets and joined tracking efforts, the losses were irreversible. The market responded quickly: Ethereum's price dropped over 5% in a single day, and there were frequent liquidations in the derivatives market, with the HTX platform even experiencing a single liquidation of $45.79 million. Retail investor confidence was shaken, with trading volume on mainstream platforms dropping over 20% in a single day, and panic sentiment pushed the market risk index higher.
Security is the "lifeline" of the cryptocurrency industry. For platforms, while expanding, security investment must be placed at the core, strengthening technical audits and permission management, rather than relying on remedial actions afterward; for investors, diversifying asset storage, choosing compliant platforms, and avoiding excessive concentration of holdings remain key to reducing risks.
