Hacker steals $27 million in BigONE exchange crypto breach

Cryptocurrency exchange BigONE disclosed that hackers stole various digital assets valued at $27 million in an attack yesterday.

The platform announced that private keys and user data remain unaffected by the intrusion and any customers that incurred losses will be reimbursed from available reserves.

“In the early hours of July 16, BigONE detected abnormal movements involving a portion of the platform’s assets,” reads the announcement.

“Upon investigation, it was confirmed to be the result of a third-party attack targeting our hot wallet.”

The company assured users that the attack method was identified and fully contained. BigONE partnered with security firm SlowMist to track the stolen funds and monitor their movement across blockchains.

“BigONE will fully cover all losses incurred from this incident. User assets will not be affected in any material way,” the exchange said.

A few hours later, BigONE administrators announced that deposit and trading services had been fully restored following the cyberattack, and withdrawal and OTC functions will be re-enabled shortly (haven’t as of writing).

Also, no information has been shared about how exactly the threat actors hacked the exchange and stole the funds but SlowMist said that the exchange was the victim of a supply-chain attack.

Meanwhile, blockchain observatory Lookochain reports that the hackers have already engaged in money laundering and exchanged the stolen assets for 120 Bitcoin, 1272 Ether, 2,625 Solana, and 23.3 million Tron.

Blockchain crime investigator ZachXBT commented on the incident, underlining BigONE’s role in processing significant volumes of proceeds coming from romance baiting and investment scams, saying that such hacks may help bring “a natural cleanse” in the space.

Record year for crypto theft

Earlier today, Chainalysis published its 2025 mid-year crypto crime report, reporting that over $2.17 billion has been stolen so far, already more than all of 2024.

ByBit’s $1.5B hack played a key role in achieving this record-breaking figure, giving North Korean threat actors the leading position so far this year.

Chainalysis highlighted a notable trend where hackers now focus more on personal wallets, which account for 23.35% of all stolen funds this year.

The blockchain intelligence firm also presented cases of physical violence for crypto-theft, which are also on the rise, correlating with Bitcoin price increases.