Kronos Research Loses $26 Million Due to API Keys Compromise

On November 19, the team at market maker Kronos Research encountered a significant issue: a leakage of their API keys resulted in the loss of approximately $26 million in cryptocurrencies. Kronos Research initiated an investigation into the incident and temporarily halted its trading operations to ensure security. However, company representatives assured that their financial situation remains stable and all losses will be compensated from internal reserves, thereby minimizing the impact on their partners.

1/ Since 1:20 am (GMT+8), our team has been working round the clock to minimize the impact and resume trading operations, following a hacking incident that involved unauthorized access to our API Keys. https://t.co/t2cP9s69sZ

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

It is noteworthy that this is the first instance since 2018 when the company had to cease trading. Kronos Research plans to swiftly resume liquidity supply for its partners, which include cryptocurrency exchanges and various token projects. Independent blockchain analyst ZachXBT, referencing data from TRM Labs, also confirmed that the damage amounted to about 12,800 ETH coins, which were transferred by hackers to various addresses.

Furthermore, due to this leak, the cryptocurrency exchange WOO was forced to suspend trading on November 19, as Kronos Research provided a significant portion of liquidity for its spot markets and about 40% of the perpetual futures market. However, thanks to collaboration with other market makers, including Selini Capital, WOO managed to restore trading in BTC, ETH, and other altcoins on the same day. The exchange later partially restored the functionality of its wallets to support the withdrawal of key assets.