Bloomberg: Bybit hacking prompts EU to review OKX's Web3 service

PANews March 11th news, according to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter said that European cryptocurrency regulators are reviewing the use of a service provided by crypto exchange OKX, which hackers used to clean up $1.5 billion of stolen money stolen from trading platform Bybit. These people requested anonymity because the deliberation process was confidential. They said the issue was discussed at a meeting hosted by the European Securities and Markets Agency's Digital Finance Standing Committee, they said. OKX is regulated by the EU's new Crypto Asset Market Regulation.

Regulators are focusing on OKX's Web3 service, two people familiar with the matter said. OKX promotes the service as a decentralized financial platform and self-service custodial wallet, giving cryptocurrency traders access to a variety of exchanges and blockchains. Bybit said authorities believe North Korea-related hackers have cleaned about $100 million in cryptocurrency stolen money through the Web3 platform.

The regulators are concerned about whether the Web3 platform falls under the jurisdiction of MiCA and, if so, what potential penalties should be imposed on OKX. The attacks encountered by Bybit are by far the largest and most complex attacks the cryptocurrency industry has suffered, highlighting the key vulnerabilities in the ecosystem as North Korean hackers increasingly target exchanges. Hackers quickly cleaned up their stolen tokens (mainly Ethereum) through decentralized platforms and so-called cross-chain bridges.