In December of 2021, the Bitmart cryptocurrency exchange was hacked by unknown hackers, who stole approximately $200 Million worth of tokens from innocent investors. The Safemoon token in particular was targeted, as that is the token most of the victims had lost.
The exchange blamed the attack on a stolen private key, and although Bitmart executives assured investors that their money would be refunded, many still say they haven’t received a dime from the company. Users are growing impatient as they wait for BitMart to deliver on its promise. Many of the victims claim they would face total financial ruin if their funds are not returned.
What was Bitmart’s response?
As per a CNBC investigation, a common complaint among the victims is Bitmart’s lack of communication. Every time someone attempts to get in touch with the exchange, they get a bot response informing them that the attorneys are “working on it”. BitMart CEO Sheldon Xia, on the other hand, is unreachable as his public email address, which he had listed on his unverified Twitter account, seems to bounce back all mails.
A Bitmart Spokesperson told CNBC that they would support all user withdrawals and are talking to multiple project teams to confirm the most reasonable solutions, one of which is token swaps.
The company’s ambiguity has fueled the “Safemoon Army”, which has historically shown to be a strong force when banded together for a common cause.
Was Safemoon a target of the hack?
The BitMart hackers got off with a total of over 45 currencies, but Safemoon tokens made up a sizable chunk of the haul. While some BitMart users have reported receiving refunds for Saitama tokens, Safemoon holders are still in the dark.
Investors in Safemoon who used BitMart claim they have yet to receive their “reflection” payments, which they haven’t received since November of 2021. As a result, BitMart’s Safemoon investors have been burned on both ends.
According to a US Air Force Veteran, when the hacker took the Safemoon coins and sold them all on the open market, the price of the entire project fell. As a result, even Safemoon holders who have never used BitMart believe that the leak has harmed them indirectly.
The Safemoon community’s response
The exchange is being pressured by the Safemoon Army through a Twitter campaign aimed to shame the exchange into paying back victims of the attack. The #WenBitMart Twitter hashtag, which started trending on Monday night, is being promoted by the Safemoon community.
Towards the end of 2021, it secured a $13.7 million Series B investment round at a $300 million valuation, prompting some to ask how the exchange can self-fund $200 million in user refunds.
When questioned about why Bitmart isn’t reimbursing stolen funds through insurance, they didn’t have an answer. When asked if the exchange was conducting an internal audit to see if anything had gone wrong inside its ranks, the exchange declined to answer the question.
Many BitMart users are concerned that, rather than suspending trading of the impacted and non-collateralized coins, BitMart has just halted withdrawals.