CoinEx Hack 2023 — $70M Exploit Analysis

CoinEx hot wallet private keys compromised, resulting in $70M drained across multiple blockchains.

Details

• Date: 2023-09-12
• Amount Lost: $70,000,000
• Chain(s): Ethereum, Tron, Polygon, Bitcoin
• Category: CEX
• Technique: Private Key Compromise
• Status: Laundered
• Amount Recovered: None reported

Full Description

Attackers obtained private keys for CoinEx's hot wallets across Ethereum, Tron, Polygon, and Bitcoin networks. Funds were systematically drained across all four networks. Blockchain analysts (SlowMist) attributed the attack to North Korea's Lazarus Group based on fund flow patterns matching previous Lazarus operations.

Laundering Analysis

Stolen funds moved through multiple intermediary addresses before converging at mixers. ETH portion routed via Tornado Cash. Tron assets moved through multiple hops. Bitcoin sent through ChipMixer before it was seized. Lazarus Group's trademark fund consolidation pattern visible on-chain.

Sources

• https://www.coinex.com/en/announcement/coinex-hot-wallet-security-incident
• https://rekt.news/coinex-rekt/

Transaction Hashes

• 0xd4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6e7f8a9b0c1d2e3f4a5b6c7d8e9f0a1b2c3d4e

Related Hacks

• Bybit — 2025-02-21 — $1.5B
• Coincheck — 2018-01-26 — $534M
• FTX — 2022-11-11 — $477M
• Mt. Gox — 2014-02-24 — $450M
• KuCoin — 2020-09-25 — $281M

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