A leading crypto exchange based in the United Kingdom has recently ceased trading activities following a security breach that resulted in a loss of $22 million. Lykke UK and Lykke Corp AG (Lykke) experienced an attack on their infrastructure on June 4, prompting the immediate shutdown of affected systems to minimize damage. The security breaches have been thoroughly investigated and addressed according to the platform’s recent posts on the social media platform X.
Reports indicate that the attacker exploited private keys, leading to the suspension of trading operations on June 6. The company attributed this action to an “unauthorized access” following the security breach a few days earlier. In the previous month, the exchange saw a total volume of $2.5 million, but customers are currently unable to withdraw assets as their account balances have been emptied. Approximately half of the funds compromised Bitcoin, with the remainder consisting of Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ether. The exploiter quickly converted Ether tokens to the stablecoin DAI while distributing Bitcoin tokens among various wallets to obfuscate the transfer trail in an attempt to launder funds.
Despite the lack of detailed information from the platform, CEO Richard Olsen sent an email to customers on June 6, apologizing for the downtime. He reassured users that their funds are secure as the company continues to investigate the cause of the security breach. The platform’s website indicates that maintenance is ongoing following the incident, with internal investigations identifying the attacker’s IP addresses. Additionally, the company has engaged a cybersecurity firm to prevent further breaches and recover assets. Trading operations will remain suspended as a precautionary measure until further notice.