The digital trading landscape faced a seismic jolt on November 19 as WOO X, a prominent exchange platform, abruptly announced a temporary cessation of operations. The reason cited was “unavoidable circumstances,” attributed to a security breach impacting one of the exchange’s key market makers.
The implicated market maker, Kronos Research, admitted to a breach in its API, resulting in a significant withdrawal of assets, rendering normal trading operations unfeasible. Despite this setback, Kronos Research declared that the stolen amount “did not constitute a major portion of the company’s assets” and pledged to resume operations as soon as possible. However, estimates from “on-chain detective” ZachXBT indicate the damages suffered by Kronos Research could total up to 12,800 ETH, approximately valued at 25 million USD.
Looks possibly like $20.3M+ (12800+ ETH)
0x2b0502FDab4e221dcD492c058255D2073d50A3ae pic.twitter.com/sLnFA0VXhk
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) November 18, 2023
Shortly after the news disseminated, WOO X felt compelled to release a statement regarding the temporary suspension of its activities. The exchange clarified that Kronos Research served as its primary market maker, contributing up to 40% of the total spot and futures liquidity on the platform. Consequently, an urgent decision was made to halt trading to safeguard user interests.
A few hours later, WOO X announced successful contact with alternative market makers to support the exchange’s operations. Trading activities resumed around 8 a.m. on November 19. In a tweeted status update, WOO X assured clients about the safety of their assets while outlining the sequence of steps to restore operations, prioritizing the resumption of major asset perpetual trading.
Status update
– First and foremost, all client assets are safe
– TLDR our largest liquidity provider Kronos Research recently experienced a hack that caused them to pause all trading on WOO X
– Since Kronos Research is the primary liquidity provider for spot markets and around… https://t.co/sDR8QHvmZC— WOO X (@_WOO_X) November 18, 2023
It’s worth noting that WOO X and WOOFi, the decentralized exchange (DEX), were established by Kronos Research in 2019, drawing parallels to the FTX – Alameda Research connection. WOO X’s recent 24-hour trading volume for spot-futures has hovered around 150 million USD.
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