The 6 Largest Crypto Exchange Hacks (That Lived to Trade Again)

Business Mayor

21-05-2025

If you still think crypto exchanges are impenetrable fortresses where your coins sleep safely in cold vaults under layers of ISO certifications and partner-signed audits — time to wake up.
**Proof of Reserves?**Anyone can fake a spreadsheet — especially when the 'audit' is done by a partner company that gets paid by the exchange itself.
**Licenses and certificates?**They don't stop a spilled-coffee sysadmin or an unpatched hot wallet.
Or Lazarus, who's probably already inside the building.
Even the biggest CEXes, pushing billions in daily volume, have been taken down — not by theoretical bugs, but by real exploits.
This is a breakdown of 6 major crypto exchanges that didn't just get hacked — they got drained.
Hundreds of millions gone. And yet… they survived. Some even got stronger.
Because in crypto, like in horror movies:
If it didn't kill you — it made you meaner. Bitfinex (2016): $65M then, $4.5B now What happened: Hackers exploited a flaw in the BitGo multi-sig wallet integration and stole 120,000 BTC.
Hackers exploited a flaw in the BitGo multi-sig wallet integration and stole 120,000 BTC. How they survived: 6 years later, the FBI recovered 94,000 BTC. Why? The hackers saved their seed phrases in the cloud. Yes. Really.
6 years later, the FBI recovered 94,000 BTC. Why? The hackers saved their seed phrases in the cloud. Yes. Really. Lesson: Even top exchanges can mess up architecture. And hackers? Sometimes they're not elite cyber-ninjas — just clumsy amateurs with Google Drive. Binance (2022): $570M and a bridge to nowhere The heist: An attacker forged proofs and minted 2 million BNB via a bug in Binance Bridge.
An attacker forged proofs and minted 2 million BNB via a bug in Binance Bridge. What they saved: $100M frozen fast. The rest vanished across chains.
$100M frozen fast. The rest vanished across chains. The fix: Binance paused the entire BSC network. Drastic, but effective.
Binance paused the entire BSC network. Drastic, but effective. Moral: Even the biggest players can't save a bad bridge. Especially when you are the bridge. Read More How Matter Labs' ZK Stack Helps Celo's Layer 2 Migration
Bybit (2025): $1.5B — a record no one brags about The breach: Cold wallets compromised. Vault-grade security, front-desk level key storage.
Cold wallets compromised. Vault-grade security, front-desk level key storage. Who did it: Likely Lazarus Group. Again.
Likely Lazarus Group. Again. Recovered: ~$43M via bug bounties, FBI, and German law enforcement.
~$43M via bug bounties, FBI, and German law enforcement. Takeaway: 'Cold' doesn't mean invincible. Especially if the keys aren't that cold to begin with. Exploit: Hackers bypassed two-factor authentication.
Hackers bypassed two-factor authentication. Initial response: 'Nothing was stolen.' Days later: 'Okay, $33.7M was stolen.'
'Nothing was stolen.' Days later: 'Okay, $33.7M was stolen.' Fix: Complete rebuild of 2FA.
Complete rebuild of 2FA. Lesson: If you're a centralized service — you are a target. Period.
KuCoin (2020): $280M and a lesson in recovery What happened: Classic hot wallet compromise.
Classic hot wallet compromise. Recovery: $204M recovered via token freezes, community help, and enforcement.
$204M recovered via token freezes, community help, and enforcement. Impressive: One of the few exchanges to get most of it back.
One of the few exchanges to get most of it back. MVP: Speed and strong alliances. BingX (2024): $52M and a classic script
The exploit: Hot wallets compromised across chains. One key for all.
Hot wallets compromised across chains. One key for all. Culprit: Probably Lazarus again.
Probably Lazarus again. Response: Promised full reimbursement. Still pending.
Promised full reimbursement. Still pending. Note: It's always the hot wallets. Always. Gate.io (2023): Panic without a hack Fact: No hack occurred.
No hack occurred. But: Twitter rumors sparked a bank run. GT token dipped.
Twitter rumors sparked a bank run. GT token dipped. Their move: Released proof-of-reserves showing $10B+ in assets.
Released proof-of-reserves showing $10B+ in assets. Conclusion: Not all attacks are technical — some are just viral FUD. MEXC & WhiteBIT: The hunters, not the hunted
According to CoinGlass rankings: MEXC: No major breaches. Actively freezes stolen funds.
No major breaches. Actively freezes stolen funds. WhiteBIT: Helped recover $16M from Rain.com hack.
You don't have to be a victim to be a hero. Or at least a sidekick.
What all these cases teach us: Hot wallets = hot mess
Once funds are online, it's not 'if' — it's when. Read More Circle's IPO: A launchpad for mainstream stablecoin adoption? Too-centralized keys = disaster
One private key to rule them all? Not DevOps — just dumb. Social engineering, Lazarus, and human error
Hackers don't just crack code — they crack people. Slow reaction = bigger losses
The longer you sleep, the less you get back. Everyone helps everyone (if you're not a scam)
Exchanges, governments, analytics firms — they cooperate.
Because one hack can shake trust in the entire ecosystem. So what makes an exchange actually 'secure'?
I used to think the safest exchange is the one that nevergot hacked.Now I know — it's the one that got hit, but bounced back.
The one that recovered funds. Or helped others do it.
Those quiet, 'never-hacked' platforms?
Maybe they've just never noticed.
Cold storage is great — but not always practical.
Diversify across 5–10 CEXes, not based on certifications, but on how they handled real fires.
Look for real customers, real recovery stories, and transparency that isn't just cosmetic.
The next attack is just a matter of when.
So ask yourself: Will your exchange be ready?