Kronos Research Loses $26 Million in Unauthorized API Access Incident

Celý článek

According to Kronos Research, the crypto trading firm lost assets worth $26 million on Nov. 18 after an unknown party illegally accessed its application programming interface (API). Kronos Research claimed the losses associated with the unauthorized API access do not constitute “a significant portion” of its equity.

Breach Does Not Affect Kronos’ Financial Standing

On Nov. 18, Kronos Research, a crypto trading firm, revealed that an unknown party had illegally accessed some of its application programming interface (API) prompting it to pause all trading. Kronos Research claimed in a statement shared via X (formerly Twitter) that the value of the stolen funds does not constitute “a significant portion of our equity.”

While the crypto firm did not initially disclose the value of the stolen assets, Zachxbt — an online crypto theft investigator — suggested that the cybercriminals had siphoned more than 12,800 ether (ETH) worth more than $20.3 million. However, in a later update also issued via X, Kronos Research revealed that hackers had stolen digital assets worth $26 million.

4/ We’re prioritizing our resources to resume servicing the exchanges and token projects we provide liquidity for. This is the first time since 2018 we've halted trading, and we are confident we will bounce back stronger than ever.

— Kronos Research 🟠 (@ResearchKronos) November 19, 2023

Despite this incident which has left the crypto firm with a $26 million hole, Kronos insisted the extent of the losses did not pose a threat to its financial well-being. The Nov. 18 statement reads:

At present, we can confirm that the losses are about $26 million in crypto assets, and despite it being a sizable amount, Kronos remains in good standing. All losses will be covered internally, no partners will be affected.

The firm also thanked crypto exchange platforms and partners for their “proactive assistance” which has helped in managing the situation. At the time when the statement was issued, Kronos said it would give priority to exchanges and token projects that it provides liquidity for. Kronos also vowed to emerge stronger from the incident which forced it to pause trading for the first time since 2018.

What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.