CoinEx sees $27M in outflows in suspected hack

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx sparked fears of a hack on Tuesday after massive hot wallet outflows

September 12, 2023 12:45 pm

frank_peters/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx has sparked fears of a hack following massive outflows from their hot wallets on Tuesday.

Per Etherscan data, at a cryptocurrency address received nearly 5,000 ether from a known CoinEx hot wallet at 9:20 am ET. Since then, the address has been systematically withdrawing sums of other cryptocurrencies from the exchange and swapping them for ether (ETH) using decentralized exchange Uniswap in what appears to be an ongoing attack.

Newsletter

Subscribe to The Breakdown

Two other addresses are exhibiting similar activity, with the total sum withdrawn and swapped on Ethereum totaling $18.6 million at press time.

Per security firm Cyvers Alerts, an additional $8.5 million in crypto assets were withdrawn to an address on the Tron blockchain, and a $290,000 in assets was withdrawn to a Polygon address, totalling $27.4 million between the three chains.

Loading Tweet..

CoinEx withdrew operations from the state of New York in June following allegations that the exchange violated the Martin Act by not registering as a securities dealer.

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.

Tags

Newsletter

The Breakdown

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Digital Asset Summit 2026

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

buy tickets learn more

recent research

Research

Kinetiq Protocol: From LST Infrastructure to HIP-3 Deployer

Kinetiq has established itself as Hyperliquid's dominant liquid staking protocol, holding 82.5% of LST market share with $610M in TVL. The protocol is now expanding beyond its kHYPE staking core into higher take-rate verticals: iHYPE for institutional custody rails, Launch for HIP-3 capital formation, and Markets for builder-deployed perpetuals. We view Markets, launching Jan. 12, as the highest-potential product line given its mechanically scalable, activity-linked unit economics. Near-term revenue remains anchored by kHYPE's KIP-2 fee schedule (~$1.6M annualized), while Markets provides embedded optionality if HIP-3 economics normalize post-Growth Mode. KNTQ's setup is relatively clean: zero insider unlocks until November 2026, 6.2% buyback yield from staking revenue, and cleared airdrop overhang. Risks center on unproven Markets execution, declining kHYPE TVL despite ongoing incentives, and competition from Hyperliquid's native initiatives.

by Shaunda Devens