ZachXBT Slams Gate.io For Not Disclosing 2018 Hack Behind $230M Loss

On-Chain sleuth ZachXBT called out cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io publicly on Twitter for covering up a 2018 hack that lead to a $230 million loss. According to ZachXBT’s tweet, the swipe happened on April 21, 2018, and was executed by North Korean co-conspirators via the exchange’s private keys.

You talk about the importance of security but how about you finally disclose @gate_io was quietly hacked by NK for $230m on April 21 2018 & how you actively kept this hidden from customers/public

No one in the space should trust anything you say after how that mess was handled https://t.co/0I3t2TnG3M pic.twitter.com/RfESOX2leD

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) November 15, 2022

ZachXBT retweeted Gate.io’s founder and CEO Lin Han’s tweet and called him out for claiming that the crypto exchange developed complete and systematic solutions for safeguarding users in relation to Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX’s downfall.

However, when ZachXBT confronted Gate.io about the cover-up, the crypto exchange did not address questions and responded that the platform features “many built-in mechanisms” that protect it from any sort of penetration.

As per the screenshot attached by the internet sleuth, Gate.io was robbed of $10,777.94 Bitcoin (BTC), $218,790 Ethereum (ETH), $Z3,783 Zcash, $99,999,000 Dogecoin (DOGE), $3,043,268 Ripple (XRP), $11,000 Litecoin (LTC), and $175,866 Ethereum Classic (ETC), totaling to $234,337,668.88.

The screenshot also confirms that Gate.io is one of the four exchanges North Korean conspirators are using to fund its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs with a currently estimated proceeds total worth $2 billion.

ZachXBT further shared on-chain sleuth Austin @1A1zP1’s report that highlights how he is tracing the stolen LTC and BTC transactions that were hacked from Gate.io’s cold wallet addresses post a DOJ press release in 2020.

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