HTX exchange suffers a $258m net outflow since resuming operations post-hack

HTX (formerly Huobi), a major crypto exchange tied to the founder of TRON, Justin Sun, recently suffered a $258 million net outflow. The money left the platform after the exchange resumed regular operations in the aftermath of a major hacking attack.

HTX customers rapidly withdrawing funds

The outflow took place over a roughly two-week period between November 25 and December 10, according to data from DefiLlama.

November 25 was when the exchange restarted its services post-hack, indicating that the funds started leaving almost immediately.

This kind of reaction from the exchange’s customers suggests just how many of them were unsettled by the security incident that took place earlier in November.

During the breach, HTX lost around $30 million in crypto assets, causing the platform to suspend withdrawals and deposits temporarily.

The exchange had to identify the weakness that was used to conduct the attack and patch it, which unfortunately meant that legitimate customers were not able to withdraw their money.

The platform’s spokesperson commented on the outflow, stating that it represents only a small fraction of the exchange’s total reserves. In other words, they claim that the platform is still as stable and robust as always.

The spokesperson added that HTX’s goal, which is to provide a secure and seamless trading experience, has not changed.

A series of hacks on platforms with ties to Justin Sun

As mentioned previously, HTX has strong ties with Justin Sun, who is also linked to a number of other platforms, such as Poloniex and HECO Bridge — a network set up by HTX itself, meant to enable transfers between different blockchains.

However, these two platforms were also hacked in November, which allowed the hacker(s) to get away with nearly $200 million in cryptocurrency.

Following the HTX hack, Sun tweeted that a probe is underway. He also added that the exchange would compensate users for any losses from HTX’s hot wallets.

It is also worth noting that this was not the only hack that HTX saw recently. The platform also saw a $8 million loss in September of this year, which makes the users’ rush to withdraw funds more understandable.

HTX is still among the top 20 largest exchanges by volume despite the hacks

Despite the hack, HTX had recorded an average trading volume of around $1.6 billion in the past 24 hours. As such, it still finds itself among the top 20 largest crypto exchanges, as per CoinMarketCap data.

Even so, it is worth noting that crypto users have become more attuned to shifts in flows and reserves at crypto platforms after FTX collapsed in November 2022.

When the exchange fell, a massive hole in its books was discovered, which was enough for experienced investors to start taking certain precautions, and especially to pick their platforms with greater care.

As far as HTX is concerned, around 33% of its reserves is in Bitcoin, while 32% is in TRX. The platform’s native HT token makes up for around 14% of the reserves, followed by a Sun-backed token known as stUSDT, which represents 12%.

This represents a major change from the beginning of the year, when HT was in the majority (33%), followed by Bitcoin (20.7%) and USDT (20.7%) sharing the second spot.

TRX represented only 16% of reserves at the time, followed by WETH (4.8%) and other tokens, which collectively made up 4.7%.

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