Cryptocurrency exchange OKEx admitted the possibility of delisting Ethereum Classic (ETC) after the blockchain network of the asset suffered two separate 51% attacks, iHodl Russia has learned.
The company says it suffered a loss of approximately $5.6 million in ETC.
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From June 26 to July 9, hackers contributed 68 230 ZEC to OKEx addresses, which they exchanged for 807 260 ETC on July 31 and withdrew to multiple wallets.
By using rented computing power, the bad actors created a "shadow chain" or a secret, alternate chain to Ethereum Classic's mainnet. They then spent ETC twice by re-depositing coins to OKEx, while simultaneously moving the same coins in their version of the blockchain between their own addresses.
At press time, Ethereum Classic is trading at $7.44 (+3.92% per 24h).
After that, the attackers passed on their own version of the transaction history to other network participants, taking advantage of the fact that at that time their chain was already longer.
OKEx claims it incurred losses and suspended Ethereum Classic deposits and withdrawals. The company will consider delisting of ETC, pending the results of the Ethereum Classic community’s work to improve the security of its chain.
Earlier, iHodl reported that OKEx had launched a new price feed called OKEx Oracle that can be used by decentralized finance (DeFi) startups to gain access to on-chain prices.
OKEx CEO Jay Hao says the oracle "is 100% accurate" and it also helps to ensure the security of users' assets and the longevity of the protocols they are using.
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