TLDR HECO Chain bridge hacked, $86.6 million stolen; Justin Sun pledges compensation.

Deposits and withdrawals on the HECO Chain paused as the security breach investigation begins.

The second major exploit tied to Justin Sun raises security concerns in crypto.

A recent security breach has rocked the HECO Chain ecosystem, with over $86.6 million in digital assets being siphoned off to suspicious addresses. The incident has prompted swift action from Tron founder Justin Sun, who has pledged full compensation for affected users and temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals as an investigation unfolds.

HTX and Heco Cross-Chain Bridge Undergo Hacker Attack. HTX Will Fully Compensate for HTX's hot wallet Losses. Deposits and Withdrawals Temporarily Suspended. All Funds in HTX Are Secure, and the Community Can Rest Assured. We are investigating the specific reasons for the hacker… — H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) November 22, 2023

The HECO Chain Bridge compromise

Blockchain security platform PeckShield has raised the alarm on a significant security breach within the HECO Chain ecosystem. According to their findings, more than $86.6 million worth of digital assets were illicitly transferred from the HECO Chain bridge to addresses that have raised suspicion.

The breach came to light when PeckShield detected a transaction involving 10,145 Ether (ETH), equivalent to approximately $19 million, being funneled from the bridge to an unknown destination. Subsequent transactions involved various other digital assets, including USD Coin (USDC), Chainlink (LINK), Shiba Inu (SHIB), among others, being sent to obscure addresses.

Immediate response from Tron and HECO Chain

In response to this alarming breach, Tron founder Justin Sun has stepped forward to reassure affected users. Sun announced that HTX, the native cryptocurrency of the HECO Chain, will fully compensate users who have incurred losses due to the hack.

As a precautionary measure, the company has temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals on the HECO Chain while a thorough investigation is conducted to ascertain the extent of the exploit and identify the perpetrators. Services will be resumed only after the investigation has been completed.

HECO Chain (HTX) was officially launched on December 21, 2020, with the primary aim of providing a cross-chain experience to users while offering lower gas fees compared to other blockchain networks.

The project emerged from a merger between Tron and BitTorrent’s bridge ecosystem, which was consolidated into HECO Chain in 2022. This integration aimed to combine the strengths of both ecosystems to create a more efficient and user-friendly blockchain experience.

Second exploit involving Justin Sun

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Justin Sun has been linked to a significant exploit in the blockchain space. On November 10, an exchange that Sun acquired back in 2018, Poloniex, fell victim to a massive $100 million exploit. Security analysts suspect that this incident may have been a result of compromised private keys, which allowed unauthorized access to the exchange’s funds.