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Atomic Wallet, a non-custodial decentralized wallet, has been subjected to a stunning exploit, causing users to report losses across their entire cryptocurrency portfolios. This unforeseen disruption shocked the cryptocurrency community as the core idea behind Atomic Wallet is that users take full responsibility for keeping their assets safe.
Losses from the Atomic Wallet heist soared to over $100 million, according to an analysis by Elliptic. This alarming figure highlights the severity of the attack, which compromised some 5,500 cryptocurrency wallets.
Despite the magnitude of the incident, Atomic Wallet has yet to provide any explanation as to the root cause of these significant losses. This has led to growing concern from frustrated users who are looking forward to clarification and reassurance from the company. Meanwhile, at the time of publication, the company’s latest update on Twitter was on June 7th.
Frustrated Atomic Wallet users have taken to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with the way the company is handling the issue. Twitter user Ezra Carlson shared, tagging the Atomic wallet, “Why doesn’t AM give me a direct answer as to why they didn’t warn me knowing full well they were hacked that it wasn’t safe to use AM last week? I made a transfer to my wallet. which was then hacked.
@AtomicWallet why won’t AM give me a straight answer about why they didn’t warn me, knowing full well that they were being hacked, that it was not safe to use AM last week before I made a transfer to my wallet that was then hacked .
— Ezra Carlson (@ezziecarlson) June 13, 2023
Another RealDeal Crypto user called Atomic Wallet a lack of updates regarding the situation, saying “Your last update was five days ago – SERIOUSLY?!?!
@AtomicWallet Your last update was five days ago – SERIOUSLY?!?!
— RealDealcryptocurrency (@hokiefan691S) June 13, 2023
On June 3, Atomic Wallet confirmed reports of compromised wallets in a tweet, but downplayed the impact, saying that “less than 1%” of their user base was affected. However, the staggering amount of losses indicates a serious breach.
At the moment less than 1% of our monthly active users have been affected/reported. Last drained transaction was confirmed over 40h ago.
Security investigation is ongoing. We victim report addresses to major exchanges & blockchain analytics to trace and block the stolen funds.
— Atomic-cryptocurrency Wallet (@AtomicWallet) June 5, 2023
On the subject: Losses from Atomic Wallet hack exceeded $35 million, network detective reports
Blockchain analysis company Elliptic linked the heist to the infamous Lazarus Group, which is believed to be responsible for the theft of over $2 billion worth of crypto assets through various thefts. According to Elliptic, this disclosure marks the first time Lazarus Group has been openly credited with a major cryptocurrency theft since their successful $100 million Horizon Bridge exploit in June 2022.
After the heist, Elliptic said it was working with international investigators and exchanges to mobilize its resources to recover stolen assets. Their attempts allegedly resulted in the freezing of over $1 million in stolen funds. However, the blockchain analysis company noted that “in response to the freezing of these funds, the thief began to change his behavior. In particular, they turned to the Russian exchange Garantex to launder stolen assets.”
The recent attack joins a series of notable breaches, including a recent Jimbos protocol exploit resulting in $7.5 million in losses and a malicious offer that seized control of Tornado Cash in May. According to a Chainalysis report, cryptocurrency hackers are believed to have gotten away with a staggering $3.8 billion in 2022, with a significant portion related to North Korea-related attacks, specifically using decentralized finance protocols.