A wave of digital devastation has crashed through the cryptocurrency world yet again. BigONE Exchange is the latest victim in what seems like a never-ending parade of crypto heists, with hackers making off with $27 million in digital assets. Just another day in crypto-land, folks.
The attack targeted BigONE’s hot wallet system—those always-online funds used for instant withdrawals. Security experts aren’t shocked. These wallets are basically candy stores with the door left open. Hardware wallets could have prevented this devastating breach by keeping assets offline and secure.
Hot wallets: the crypto equivalent of leaving your mansion unlocked with a neon “VALUABLES INSIDE” sign flashing.
The exchange immediately suspended all deposits and withdrawals after detecting the breach. Too little, too late.
The hack appears to have exploited infrastructure weaknesses, joining the ranks of recent high-profile breaches like Phemex’s $85 million loss in January and DMM Bitcoin’s eye-watering $305 million theft. These numbers aren’t small change.
“We’re conducting a full investigation,” said BigONE representatives. Yeah, right alongside every other exchange that’s been hit.
They’ve brought in external auditors and security firms—the usual post-disaster playbook. With crypto hacks resulting in private key thefts being increasingly common in 2025, the response is predictably inadequate. Meanwhile, users are left twiddling their thumbs, unable to access their funds.
The attackers likely used a combination of phishing, social engineering, or direct software exploits. North Korean state-backed groups have been behind similar heists, though attribution remains pending. Implementing multi-factor authentication could have potentially prevented or limited the scope of the attack. Once stolen, the funds will probably vanish through mixing services and cross-chain bridges.
What’s truly depressing is how predictable these attacks have become. Unpatched software, poor key management, and inadequate monitoring are crypto security’s greatest hits. Yet exchanges keep playing the same broken record.
BigONE has promised to reimburse affected users—joining the $2.2 billion in crypto stolen globally this year.
They’ll gradually restore services as security measures improve. Trust, however, is another matter entirely.
For everyday crypto users, it’s a stark reminder: exchanges remain vulnerable despite all their security promises. The industry’s growing pains continue to be measured in millions of lost dollars.
