Crypto exchange HTX and its associated decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) faced a significant disruption when a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack struck on Friday. The attack aimed to overwhelm the online service, rendering it temporarily inaccessible by flooding it with a barrage of requests. The services were successfully restored after a brief 15-minute outage, as confirmed by Justin Sun, a prominent crypto figure and advisor to HTX, in a post on his X account.
Justin Sun’s reassurance
This incident comes on the heels of a previous hacking incident on November 10, where HTX suffered a substantial loss of around $97 million. The attack also targeted the blockchain protocol Heco Chain.
Despite the challenges, Sun had previously asserted the security of assets held on HTX and Poloniex, platforms he is associated with, following last month’s hack that saw over $200 million drawn off of both exchanges.
The withdrawal freeze was initiated after hackers stole $114 million from Poloniex’s hot wallets in November, which was followed by the $97 million pilfered from HTX and Heco Chain.
What happened previously?
Certain assets faced withdrawal restrictions, causing altcoins to remain locked while Bitcoin (BTC) and Tron (TRX) were the only two digital assets available for withdrawal. This led to these tokens trading at a premium on Poloniex, forcing users to undergo a haircut of up to 10% to liquidate their assets and withdraw.
Despite these setbacks, Sun continued to reassure users about the safety of their assets held on HTX and Poloniex. The restoration of services after the recent DDoS attack serves as another proof of the resilience of these platforms.
Justin Sun, in response to the DDoS attack and subsequent restoration of services, highlighted the swift action taken by HTX to mitigate the impact. “The 15-minute outage was a result of a powerful DDoS attack, but our team swiftly addressed the situation to restore services promptly. We remain committed to providing a secure environment for our users,” Sun stated.
The recent DDoS attack on HTX and the quick recovery of its services highlight the constant challenges faced by these platforms in keeping user funds secure. HTX’s bounced back quickly, along with Justin Sun’s reassurances. Proofs that the industry is actively working towards strengthening its defenses and creating a safe space for its users.
