---
title: "Hackers Just Stole Nearly $200 Million from a Crypto Exchange, in the Second Heist in Two Weeks"
description: "Hackers have stolen almost $200 million from the BitMart cryptocurrency exchange, the latest in a long line of heists, headaches, and heartbreak for those who invest and trade in crypto. "
date: "2021-12-07"
modified: "2021-12-07"
authors:
  - name: "Noor Al-Sibai"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai"
url: "https://futurism.com/hackers-stole-bitmart"
categories:
  - "Cybersecurity"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Hacking"
tags:
  - "blockchain"
  - "crypto"
  - "ethereum"
  - "hackers"
---

# Hackers Just Stole Nearly $200 Million from a Crypto Exchange, in the Second Heist in Two Weeks

![Hackers have stolen almost $200 million from the BitMart cryptocurrency exchange, the latest in a long line of heists, headaches, and heartbreak for those who invest and trade in crypto. ](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/hackers-200-million-crypto-exchange.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Getty Images\</em\>*

Over the weekend, hackers stole almost $200 million from the BitMart cryptocurrency exchange — the latest in a seemingly endless string of heists, headaches, and heartbreak for those who invest and trade in crypto.

*CNBC* [reported that](<https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/05/hackers-take-196-million-from-crypto-exchange-bitmart-in-large-breach.html>) although BitMart has admitted to $150 million in losses due to a "security breach," the blockchain security and analytics firm PeckShield — which was first to [notice and publicize the heist](<https://twitter.com/peckshield/status/1467316799977193476?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1467316799977193476%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.coindesk.com%2Fbusiness%2F2021%2F12%2F05%2Fcrypto-exchange-bitmart-hacked-with-losses-estimated-at-196-million%2F>) — said the total appears to be closer to about $196 million.

PeckShield also tweeted that about $100 million of the stolen funds were on the Ethereum blockchain, with the additional $96 million were on the Binance Smart Chain.

Naturally, this being the world of blockchain, the saga played out like absolute chaos. BitMart CEO Sheldon Xia, who [according to *Coindesk*](<https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/12/05/crypto-exchange-bitmart-hacked-with-losses-estimated-at-196-million/>) initially claimed the hack was "fake news," has since vowed that the [company will compensate the users](<https://twitter.com/sheldonbitmart/status/1467722582845702149>) whose funds were stolen with BitMart's own money.

After taking the funds out of users' "hot" — internet-connected — wallets, the hackers used a "privacy mixer" to do the cryptocurrency version of money laundering. As such, it's still unclear who the hacker or hackers were.

CNBC noted that this is the second time in as many weeks that there's been a large-scale crypto robbery after [$120 million was stolen](<https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/2/22814849/badgerdao-defi-120-million-hack-bitcoin-ethereum>) from the decentralized BadgerDAO platform. And in August there were two big crypto thefts as well, one in which [hackers took nearly $100 million](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/investigators-track-million-stolen-crypto>) and another where the thieves made away with $600 million from The Poly Network crypto exchange — though, in a bizarre twist, [they eventually returned the tokens](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/hacker-steals-returns-crypto>).

For its part, [the crypto community has responded](<https://cointelegraph.com/news/huobi-and-shiba-inu-community-to-help-bitmart-overcome-200m-hack>) to the BitMart hack by vowing to help strengthen security and head off such attacks in the future.

While it's tempting to take this caper as par for the course in the wacky world of crypto, it's important to remember that real people put real money into buying these tokens, and that they're hurting. It's not hard to imagine how much people would freak out if hundreds of millions of dollars were stolen in a bank heist, and this theft deserves just as much gravity.

**READ MORE:** [Hackers take $196 million from crypto exchange Bitmart, security firm says](<https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/05/hackers-take-196-million-from-crypto-exchange-bitmart-in-large-breach.html>) \[*CNBC*\]

**More on crypto theft:** [*Blockchains Were Supposed to Be “Unhackable.” Now They’re Getting Hacked.*](<https://futurism.com/blockchains-unhackable-getting-hacked>)

## Author
At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/noorfromfuturism.bsky.social>)