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Binance has frozen withdrawals of a crypto linked to its own token that looks like it's been hacked, CEO 'CZ' says

changpeng zhao binance ceo
Binance has frozen withdrawals of an Ankr token that could have been targeted by hackers, CEO Changpeng Zhao said Friday.Eric PIERMONT / AFP) (Photo by ERIC PIERMONT/AFP via Getty Images
  • Binance froze withdrawals of a staked Ankr protocol token Friday.

  • The exchange's chief executive Changpeng Zhao said the crypto could have been targeted by hackers.

  • The Ankr coin's price crashed 99.5% in the past 24 hours, sparking fears of an attack.

Binance said Friday that it will freeze withdrawals of a cryptocurrency that derives part of its value from a link to the exchange's own native Binance Coin token.

Chief executive Changpeng Zhao said withdrawals of Ankr's Reward Bearing Staked BNB coin would be paused while Binance probed a potential attack by hackers.

The token, which held around $123 million of assets and was intended to offer Binance Coin holders returns via staking, crashed 99.5% Friday to trade at $1.51.

"Initial analysis is developer private key was hacked, and the hacker updated the smart contract to a more malicious one," 'CZ' said on Twitter. "Binance paused withdrawals a few hours ago."

Binance has also frozen around $3 million that hackers moved to its centralized exchange, he added.

Hackers have relentlessly targeted digital assets in 2022 with more than $3 billion wiped from the sector this year, according to Chainalysis.

Binance's freezing of Ankr's token comes at a time when investors are worrying about contagion from the implosion of rival exchange FTX and a brutal crypto winter that has seen bitcoin's price fall 63% year-to-date, with the token trading at just under $17,000 at last check.

Read more: Sam Bankman-Fried said he doesn't think he's criminally liable for FTX's implosion, but that his lawyers don't want him speaking publicly

Read the original article on Business Insider

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