16.08.2025 00:37
BtcTurk, a prominent Turkish cryptocurrency exchange, has temporarily halted all cryptocurrency withdrawals following a significant security breach. The incident, discovered on August 14th, 2025, involved unauthorized access to their hot wallets, resulting in the suspected theft of approximately $48 million in digital assets. While the exchange assures users that the vast majority of their funds remain safely stored in cold storage and that trading in Turkish Lira and other services continue uninterrupted, the impact of this event remains a significant concern.
Blockchain analytics firms have been actively tracking the movement of the stolen funds. Cyvers, a leading blockchain security company, identified roughly $48 million in suspicious transactions involving a diverse range of cryptocurrencies, including Ether (ETH), Avalanche (AVAX), Arbitrum (ARB), Base (BASE), Optimism (OP), Mantle (MANTLE), and Polygon (MATIC). These funds were reportedly transferred to multiple addresses before undergoing complex swaps designed to obscure their origins. Other analytical platforms, such as Lookonchain and CertiK, have offered slightly differing estimates of the total losses, ranging from $23 million to $50 million. Regardless of the precise figure, the scale of the theft represents a substantial financial blow to the exchange.
This latest security breach marks a troubling recurrence for BtcTurk. A similar incident occurred just over a year ago, in June 2024, resulting in the loss of approximately $55 million due to unauthorized withdrawals from hot wallets. That previous breach prompted a significant response, including intervention from Binance, which successfully froze over $5.3 million of the stolen funds. The 2024 incident also led to a change in leadership, with CEO Özgür Güneri resigning after seven years and founder Kerem Tibuk taking over as acting CEO. This change coincided with BtcTurk's ambitious expansion plans into Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.
Authorities have been notified of the recent breach, and BtcTurk is collaborating with cybersecurity experts to fully investigate the incident, strengthen its security infrastructure, and prevent future occurrences. While the hack has yet to cause a significant market downturn, its potential impact on investor confidence and the overall cryptocurrency market remains a subject of ongoing analysis and discussion among market experts. The long-term consequences of this repeated security failure, especially in light of BtcTurk's expansion strategy, are still unfolding.
