In a shocking turn of events, the decentralized crypto exchange FixedFloat has been compromised in a hacker attack, leading to a substantial loss of both Bitcoin and Ethereum from its reserves. The breach, which was first brought to public attention by blockchain researcher @reprove, has raised serious concerns about the exchange’s security measures and the potential inside involvement.

Immediate Aftermath of the Breach

The FixedFloat team quickly responded to the incident via a blog post on February 18th, downplaying the severity of the attack by referring to it as a “minor problem.” Nevertheless, they confirmed the theft of at least 1,700 Ethereum, which is valued at around $4.7 million. This incident has only added to the growing list of concerns surrounding cryptocurrency exchanges and their vulnerability to cyber-attacks.

Speculations of Insider Involvement

The crypto community has been rife with speculation that FixedFloat’s own developers could be implicated in the theft. Influential voices like @reprove have suggested the possibility of an inside job, although FixedFloat has not provided any conclusive evidence or further updates since their initial statement.

Broader Impact and Stolen Funds

Security analysts from CertiK have indicated that the breach’s impact might be even more extensive than initially reported. They estimate that more than $21 million in Bitcoin has also been siphoned off by the attackers. The Ethereum stolen has been tracked moving through eXch, a smart contract for token swaps, while some of the Bitcoin appears to have been funneled through the privacy-focused Samourai Wallet, utilizing CoinJoin transactions to obscure the trail.

FixedFloat’s Market Influence and Previous Concerns

Since its establishment in 2019, FixedFloat has become a significant player in the cryptocurrency exchange space, particularly known for its support of Ethereum and Bitcoin transactions over the Lightning Network. This breach comes on the heels of a Forta Network analysis that revealed FixedFloat’s involvement in financing over 23% of flash loan attacks, putting their operational integrity under scrutiny.