Tether claims 30 million USDT stolen, Huobi Pro, OKEx and other exchanges suspend deposit and withdrawal services

Tether, the mysterious company behind the digital token USDT, claims that $30 million worth of USDT was stolen by hackers.

On the project’s website, Tether accused external attackers of stealing $30,950,010 worth of USDT, and subsequently said it would take swift action to ensure that the exchange does not introduce these stolen funds.

The company wrote:

“On November 19, 2017, USDT worth $30,950,010 was moved from Tether’s wallet and sent to an unauthorized Bitcoin address. As the issuer of USDT, Tether will not redeem these stolen tokens, and we are also trying to prevent them from flowing into the broader ecosystem.”

As of press time, exchanges including Huobi Pro and OKEx have issued notices to suspend USDT deposit and withdrawal services. The following is the exchange announcement:

Dear users:

Due to the official notification from Tether, USDT wallet needs to be upgraded. In order to ensure the absolute safety of user assets, OKEx temporarily suspends USDT deposit and withdrawal services. After the wallet upgrade is completed, OKEx will reopen USDT deposit and withdrawal. You don't need to worry about the safety of your assets.

OKEx will continue to protect the security of your funds and digital assets stored in OKEx. Thank you very much for your understanding and support.

OKEx
November 21, 2017

Dear users:

Due to an official notice from Tether, USDT wallets need to be upgraded. In order to ensure the absolute safety of user assets, Huobi Global Professional Station (including peer-to-peer trading platform) suspends USDT deposit and withdrawal services (peer-to-peer trading platform and Huobi Pro platform transfer functions are not affected). After the wallet upgrade is completed, Huobi Pro will resume USDT deposit and withdrawal services, and you do not need to worry about the safety of your assets.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you and thank you for your understanding and support.

Huobi Global Professional Station
November 21, 2017

According to Tether, it is releasing a new version of the Omni Core client to effectively lock up the stolen tokens.

“The tether.to backend wallet service has been suspended. We are currently conducting a thorough investigation into the cause of the attack to prevent similar incidents in the future.”

The incident comes amid growing controversy and discussion surrounding Tether, and its unclear relationship with Bitcoin exchange Bitfinex, which has been accused by some members of the community of using USDT assets to manipulate the market.

What do you think?