BingX launches ‘ShieldX’ wallet firewall months after $52M hack

Reported by Cointelegraph: The Singapore-based crypto exchange said its new security initiative dubbed “ShieldX” will help prevent future exploits and better safeguard user assets.

Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange BingX says it’s launching a new initiative dubbed “ShieldX” after falling victim to a hot wallet exploit that stole $52 million in September.

In an Oct. 24 statement, the exchange said ShieldX introduces an “upgraded wallet firewall” to provide advanced protection against threat actors and safeguard users’ assets on the platform.

BingX also said it had partnered with several unidentified security firms to implement “round-the-clock” monitoring and threat detection to increase protection against potential exploits.

“The launch of ShieldX marks a crucial step in proactively strengthening our platform’s defenses,” said BingX’s chief product officer, Vivien Lin.

The exchange fell victim to an attack on Sept. 20, with hackers targeting BingX’s hot wallets and making off with about $52 million in assets from a variety of blockchains, including Ethereum, BNB Chain, Base and Optimism.

BingX said it has fully restored its regular operations after halting withdrawals for several assets, including Tether , Circle’s USD Coin, Bitcoin and Ether in response to the hack.

At the time, Lin downplayed the incident, describing the hack as only a “minor” breach and ensuring users that all affected funds would be “fully covered” by BingX’s own capital, though later investigation proved the stolen amount was more than “minor.”

BingX also courted controversy in April after Telegram admins for the crypto exchange admitted allowing Iranian users to evade sanctions.

At the time, the exchange openly displayed an Iranian version of its website, and its officials had made statements in Persian in the exchange’s official Telegram group.

“The Bing X exchange has no problem with Iranian users, and it is even possible to authenticate with a national card,” read a translation of one of the statements.

The exchange also allowed swaps between the Iranian rial and Tether on its platform, which are prohibited under the United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) rules.

Founded in 2018, BingX facilitates over $300 million in daily trading volume, making it one of the top 20 crypto exchanges in the world, according to TokenInsight data.