Binance freezes $5 million in funds looted from BtcTurk after alleged $54 million hack of Turkish exchange
Quick Take
- The Turkish cryptocurrency exchange BtcTurk said on Saturday that a cyberattack affected the funds held in ten of its hot wallets, though the exchange claimed the vast majority of its crypto, which is stored in cold wallets, remains secure.
- Binance CEO Richard Teng stated on X that his exchange is assisting BtcTurk with investigating the hack and has frozen “over $5.3 million in stolen funds so far.”
- Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT has pegged the possible losses from the hack at $55 million, largely in AVAX tokens, after observing suspicious transfers that coincide with the hack.
Turkish cryptocurrency exchange BtcTurk announced that a cyberattack affected the cryptocurrency stored in ten of its hot wallets following reports of suspicious transfers of Avalanche 
AVAX
+9.27%
tokens on Saturday. The exchange noted that its cold wallets, which contain the vast majority of its assets, remain secure and the company remains solvent, according to the company's announcement.
Binance CEO Richard Teng announced on X that his company, the world's largest crypto exchange, is assisting BtcTurk with the investigation and has frozen "over $5.3 million in stolen funds so far."
Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT said that suspicious transfers of about $54 million in Avalanche tokens were likely connected to the attack following the results of a timing analysis. The funds were transferred to exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase using THORChain and then withdrawn as Bitcoin to two separate wallets, ZachXBT noted, in large transactions that occurred around the same time as BtcTurk's disclosure of the attack.
In addition, the relevant Avalanche wallet had been previously identified by a blockchain researcher as belonging to a Turkish cryptocurrency exchange, lending credence to the connection between BtcTurk and the Avalanche transfers.
Furthermore, ZachXBT stated on Telegram that online casino Sportsbet "was likely hacked for $3.5M+ by the same threat actor as BTCTurk two hours before as funds from the thefts comingled." Sportsbet was unable to be immediately reached for comment by The Block, but a message on Sportsbet's homepage states that "transactions on BTC and BSC networks are currently unavailable as well as gameplay with BTC and BNB" in a message under the heading "Cashier Maintenance."
The price of Avalanche fell about 10% following the transfers, though it has since recovered 5% from its lowest value on Saturday, according to The Block's Avalanche Price Page.
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