BitMart: two connected wallets become exit doors

In December 2021, assets leave BitMart’s portfolios on Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain. Analysts spot the movements, while the company confirms a significant breach to its security. The published figures change: the first balance sheet exceeds $150 million, and Elliptic later estimates the theft to be more than $225 million.

BitMart explains that online wallet keys have been compromised. These keys make it possible to sign transactions; the blockchain can then treat a transaction produced by the thief as a technically valid transaction. It is not necessary to break the encryption of the whole network to empty an account thus exposed.

The precise origin of the compromise should not be met by a convenient scenario. The sources selected do not establish a single method of infection or the civil identity of the person responsible. A hypothesis about a password manager is therefore not presented as a fact.

BitMart suspends withdrawals to limit new releases and announces a review of its devices. The platform is committed to using its resources to cover the incident. This commitment is separate from the recovery of loot and the individual settlement of all claims.

The assets are then moved and traded, forcing investigators to follow several families of tokens and several steps. Their public record does not mean that all can be immobilized by an issuer or returned immediately.

The case reveals a difference that the word wallet masks: a reserve used for current operations does not present the same risks as a reserve whose means of signature are better separated from the connected system.