Korean Blockchain Fund Supports Web3 Game Developer Growth in Southeast Asia

HTX Hacker Returns FundsThe hacker responsible for the nearly 5,000 ETH exploit on the Seychelles-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange HTX (formerly known as Huobi) last month has decided to return the stolen funds.Towards the end of last month, the exchange fell victim to a hack, resulting in a loss estimated at around $8 million. According to on-chain data, the hacker has repatriated the pilfered cryptocurrency, marking a significant development in the aftermath of the cyberattack.Photo by Shubham Dhage on UnsplashHacker rewardedThe returned funds were sent back in two separate transactions, one consisting of approximately 4,000 ETH and the other totaling around 1,000 ETH. HTX advisor and Tron Founder, Justin Sun, took to X (formerly Twitter) to officially confirm the recovery. In his statement, Sun revealed that HTX had not only received all the stolen funds as promised by the hacker but had also extended a gesture of goodwill. HTX rewarded the responsible party with a “white hat bonus” amounting to 250 ETH, equivalent to a substantial $400,000.Sun expressed his satisfaction with the hacker’s decision, stating:“We have confirmed that the hacker has fully returned all funds, as promised, and we have also paid the hacker a white hat bonus of 250 ETH. The hacker made the right choice. We would like to express our gratitude to everyone in the industry for their help.”Hacker advisory messageDuring the return of the funds, the hacker conveyed a message on-chain, shedding light on the reason behind this act of restitution. The message read:“Received your message. White hat bonus to0x1Fc8674A51D6b97C968BE384337519CE7003152B. Your system hot wallet private key leak, you should change system hot wallet address and reduce the system hot wallet rate.”HTX, in response to the hacker’s decision to return the funds and in accordance with its commitment, promptly sent the white hat bonus to the specified address. The exchange also requested the hacker to provide a detailed security vulnerability analysis report to the email address htxsafe@htx-inc.com.This request aims to prevent similar incidents in the future, with assurances that the hacker’s privacy will be safeguarded.Justin Sun had confirmed the original hack in September, at the time reassuring the community that HTX had covered all losses arising from the attack and resolved associated issues satisfactorily.While acknowledging the severity of the hack, Sun pointed out that the stolen amount represented a relatively small fraction of the $3 billion in assets held by HTX’s users. To incentivize the return of the funds, HTX had even offered a reward of 5%, which equated to $400,000.However, Sun also emphasized that if the funds had not been returned within a seven-day window, the company would have been compelled to involve law enforcement authorities.Thankfully, it did not come to that, and the cryptocurrency exchange can now move forward with the confidence that its users’ assets are secure. This incident highlights the importance of cooperation and ethical choices within the crypto community, as well as the potential for resolution even in the face of cyberattacks.

CoinEx Reveals Insights Into Recent Platform HackHong Kong crypto exchange CoinEx has issued a further update relative to the security breach that occurred on the platform last week resulting in one of the exchange’s hot wallets being compromised.Photo by FLY:D on UnsplashImmediate responseIn the immediate aftermath of the $70 million hack, CoinEx took action to safeguard user assets and initiate an investigation into the incident. It suspended all deposit and withdrawal services and executed an emergency shutdown of the hot wallet server. Following this, the company securely moved the remaining assets to cold storage, commencing the process of reconstructing and deploying a new wallet architecture.The firm also engaged in an investigation, spearheaded by its wallet and security teams, to ascertain the extent of the breach. Moreover, CoinEx claims to have proactively reached out to fellow exchanges to freeze any assets related to the attack.Haipo Yang, the Founder and CEO of CoinEx, conveyed his apologies to affected users through his personal X (formerly Twitter) account. He emphasized the team’s commitment to restoring services promptly and reassured users that their funds will remain secure.Following up on that commitment, CoinEx published an update on the hot wallet hack on September 15 to address these concerns individually.New wallet deploymentThe exchange expects to finalize wallet upgrades within the upcoming week, after which withdrawals will gradually be phased in, subject to security evaluations. The CoinEx team is currently working on developing and deploying an entirely new and robust wallet system capable of managing activities across 211 chains and 737 assets.The firm has outlined that each of its product lines operates independently, featuring its own risk control system. Consequently, the security incident that occurred on CoinEx will not affect the integrity of its other product lines.In its most recent update on Tuesday, the Hong Kong crypto exchange confirmed that 80% of its wallet system has now been reconstructed. It added that it has initiated preparations to enable the withdrawal system on the platform. It stated:”Details about the resumption of withdrawals, including specific dates, times, and arrangements, will be announced on the CoinEx website. Please stay updated on our announcements for the latest information.”Ongoing investigationRegarding the identity of the attacker, CoinEx has confirmed that the matter is currently under investigation. While some security firms have made attribution claims, the company is focusing primarily on deploying the new wallet architecture, restoring affected users and functionalities, and enhancing overall security.At the same time, the company has initiated communications with the hackers in a bid to proactively seek a mutually agreeable resolution. While the incident implicates the loss of a substantial amount of funds, the firm maintains that in the context of the overall business, the sum represents only a small percentage of total assets under its management.Exchange security remains a major challenge in the crypto sector, with hacks happening on an ongoing basis. Last week, Seychelles-headquartered peer-to-peer crypto platform Remitano acknowledged a $2.7 million hack. At the beginning of September, crypto gambling platform Stake was reported to have suffered a $41 million hack.

Dunamu Pushes for Biodiversity Conservation Through NFT ProjectDunamu, the fintech company operating South Korea’s leading crypto exchange Upbit, said Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute (KoAGI) and the Korea Green Foundation (KFG) to drive a non-fungible token (NFT) biodiversity project over the course of three years. This comes as part of efforts to ramp up biodiversity conservation efforts.Photo by Eelco Böhtlingk on UnsplashThe MOU was signed at Dunamu’s headquarters in Gangnam, southern Seoul, with Dunamu CEO Lee Sirgoo, Director Ryu Kwang-soo of the KoAGI, and Lee Mi-kyung, Head of the KFG, in attendance.“This partnership serves as a starting point for Dunamu to actively utilize our technology to conserve biological resources — especially trees — and collaborate with various communities,” said Lee Sirgoo, CEO of Dunamu.Conservation meets NFTsThe project will involve creating NFTs from images of plant seeds stored in the Seed Vault — a conservation facility managed by KoAGI — which will then be issued through Upbit NFT, the exchange’s NFT trading platform. Owners of these NFTs will have the opportunity to engage in various events such as quizzes, Dunamu said, thereby promoting biodiversity conservation and fostering awareness about the importance of forests.Additionally, certain plant species that have been issued as NFTs will be selected to be placed in plant conservation facilities built in collaboration with botanical gardens located near the plants’ natural habitats.“Given the irreplaceability of both NFTs and flora and fauna, we will continue to do our utmost to fulfill our environmental responsibilities,” CEO Lee emphasized.The involved parties are also looking to establish an online community where they could directly gather the NFT owners’ opinions through methods such as polling to help plan for more upcoming projects. This integration of online projects with offline conservation activities is expected to contribute to local development and biodiversity.Boosting ESG effortsAs a key part of its ESG strategy, Dunamu has been focusing on trees while leading efforts for environmental protection and forest restoration. Earlier this year, the company teamed up with KoAGI to issue NFTs and contributed its entire sum of sales proceeds and transaction fees of around KRW 20 million (approximately $14,800) to establish an endangered plant protection fund.The company also held a campaign back in March with the Korea Forest Service and the Korea Forest Welfare Institute called “2nd foRest,” dedicated to restoring forests affected by fires. For every virtual tree planted in Dunamu’s metaverse, 2ndblock, two real trees were planted.The following month, Dunamu donated KRW 500 million in aid for the recovery of areas hit by the large-scale forest fires in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. The company also established virtual reality healing gardens at the Geumcheon Fire Station and Seoul Rehabilitation Hospital.