OKEx, the cryptocurrency exchange, has revealed that it has suffered a loss worth $5.6 million because of the double-spend performed by attackers in what is known as Ethereum Classic 51% attack. OKEx has reported that the loss was completely absorbed according to OKEx’s policy of user protection. OKEx insisted that this attack did not result in any kind of loss for users of their platform.
The Ethereum Classic Fifty-one Percent Attack
The team at OKEx has suspended ETC withdrawals and deposits for preventing further losses as an immediate response to this attack.
It has been reported that five accounts were used to carry out the attack and those accounts have been suspended to stop further incidents.
A blockchain analysis company performed the investigation and confirmed that a 51% attack did take place in which over five million dollars were stolen. Some reports also surfaced that linked OKEx wallets with the incident.
However, in a blog post, the OKEx team responded that their exchange was utilized by attackers to buy as well as trade ETC.
The team at OKEx exchange believes that their exchange was the target since it offers excellent ETC liquidity. They added that attackers must have calculated that it would be easy to trade significant amounts of ETC using their exchange.
Steps to Increase Security
According to the OKEx team, it is their responsibility to protect users from future attacks that would compromise the security of funds. The team added that they are considering delisting ETC as well as hold the results of work performed by the Ethereum Classic community so that security can be further improved.