New Delhi CNN Business —
The crypto industry just can’t catch a break this year.
Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, paused withdrawals and notified users of possible hacks of two crypto tokens Friday, according to a tweet by its founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao.
“Possible hacks on Ankr and Hay,” Zhao said on Twitter. “Initial analysis is developer private key was hacked, and the hacker updated the smart contract to a more malicious one.”
“Smart contract” is a term used to describe computer code that automatically executes all or parts of an agreement. It is usally stored on a blockchain-based platform.
In a separate tweet, Binance reassured its users by saying that “this is not an attack” against the company, and that its team is “engaged” with “relevant parties…to investigate further.”
Binance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The apparent attack comes at a time when the digital assets industry is struggling with the financial contagion unleashed by the fall of crypto exchange FTX.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
