India-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitbns briefly reset user balances due to a ‘minor technical glitch’. The panic that lasted for 7 hours aroused concerns as the exchange concealed a hacking attack in February 2022.
Bitbns users saw their cryptocurrency balances reset
On the morning of June 27, Bitbns users noticed that their accounts on the exchange were empty. When investors woke up, they found their portfolio wiped out overnight with no INR or crypto balance. Earlier today, Bitbns said the issue was with an overnight database upgrade. Bitbns CEO Gaurav Dahake described what happened as a “minor technical glitch.”
We have identified the issue.
This happened during a database upgrade yesterday night.
We are working on fixing it.
System would be paused for maintenance.
Trading, deposits, withdrawals, Balances all functions would resume post maintenance. https://t.co/YrM3hpeobw
— BNS (@bitbns) June 27, 2023
In a later tweet, the exchange reported that the issue is now resolved. The Indian crypto platform was offline for nearly 7 hours after the zero user balance issue was first highlighted. According to the website, user balances should already be restored, while deposits and withdrawals started at 15:30 TR time. Some users have confirmed that their accounts are starting to reflect the correct balance.
Users report automated cryptocurrency transactions
However, several users also told BT that they were receiving notifications of unauthorized trading on Bitbn. Some users said that even though the sales were not reflected in their INR income accounts, their trading history reflected all cryptocurrencies being sold without permission. According to one user:
The sale of my crypto tokens is also in my trading history, but I have not taken any of these transactions. Even after the sale was completed, the INR was not reflected in my account.
All users are able to see the correct balances now.
Trading starts at 6:15 pm. https://t.co/YF3kYjxf10— BNS (@bitbns) June 27, 2023
While the Bitbns CEO said there were no “external security breaches,” these unauthorized transactions have prompted some to speculate that the exchange has been potentially hacked. On-chain crypto detective ZachXBT stated in March that he had found evidence that the exchange had covered up a hack in February 2022.
February 2022 events raise further concern during blackout
ZachXBT claimed that Bitbns covered up a hack under the guise of “system maintenance” on February 1, 2022. The on-chain detective shared a screenshot of the maintenance tweet posted by BitBNS. He claimed that the exchange was hacked on this date. Later, CEO Gaurav Dahake admitted at an AMA session that the stock market was indeed hacked 13 months ago. However, Dahake claimed that the system was taken offline to analyze anomalies. He also stated that there is no tact to hide the hack.
Dahake said Bitbns took the exchange offline when the team noticed surprisingly high throughput on its servers. The team later found that the prices of MATIC, BNB, and AAVE were incorrect. However, he discovered that there is a difference in token buying and selling prices. The team also acknowledged that there are some anomalies in withdrawals. As Kriptokoin.com, we have included the details in this article.
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