Hackers Drain $14.5 Million from Nervos Network and BitoPro Platforms Amid Suspected Breach

On-chain investigator ZachXBT highlighted a suspicious outflow of digital assets valued at $11.5 million from the hot wallets of the Taiwanese cryptocurrency exchange BitoPro, which occurred on May 8.

The incident involved cryptocurrencies from the Tron, Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon networks. According to the investigator, the thieves have already transferred the assets to the Tornado Cash crypto mixer, converted a portion into Bitcoin via Thorchain, and subsequently sent them to a private Wasabi Wallet.

The exchange representatives informed about the leak only on June 2—26 days after the attack. On May 9, the exchange had announced «technical maintenance» and suspended withdrawals.

In a recent statement, BitoPro representatives confirmed the hack. The announcement indicated that the hot wallet was compromised during the coin transfer process.

«At the time of the incident, our emergency response mechanism was immediately activated, safely transferring platform assets to a new wallet while halting hacker activity. We also engaged a third-party cybersecurity firm to conduct a comprehensive investigation and tracking,» the statement, translated from Chinese, noted.

According to BitoPro, the platform’s reserve of digital assets remains secure, and user rights and interests have not been affected. However, detailed information regarding the attack and the reasons for the delay in the announcement remain undisclosed.

On June 2, analysts from Cyvers Alerts documented a series of suspicious transactions linked to the modular blockchain Nervos Network. The perpetrators were able to withdraw assets totaling around $3 million, including:

All assets were exchanged for Ethereum and then sent to Tornado Cash.

The protocol team has suspended all smart contracts and initiated an investigation.

“We’ve detected abnormal activity on #ForceBridge and have paused the service as a precaution. Our team is investigating. Updates will be shared ASAP. Thank you for your patience.”

It should be noted that in May, the losses in the cryptocurrency industry due to hacks reached $244 million, marking a 40% decrease compared to the previous month.