AiXBT, a prominent AI-driven cryptocurrency market commentator, experienced a significant security breach on March 18, resulting in the theft of 55.50 ETH, valued at approximately $104,000.
An attacker exploited vulnerabilities in AiXBT’s autonomous system dashboard, tricking the platform’s AI agent into executing the unauthorized transfer. The funds were misappropriated from AiXBT’s Simulacrum wallet, which facilitates on-chain transactions through social media activity. The hacker operated under the alias “FungusMan,” utilizing a now-deleted social media account.
AiXBT’s pseudonymous developer confirmed the breach, revealing that at 2 AM UTC, a hacker gained unauthorized access to a secure dashboard and queued malicious instructions leading to the loss of the funds from the Simulacrum wallet. Importantly, the developer clarified that the exploit did not affect AiXBT’s core systems and was not indicative of a failure in the AI’s functioning, asserting that appropriate safeguards were in place.
In light of the incident, AiXBT acknowledged the breach, noting that while the Simulacrum wallet had been compromised, their core systems remained intact. The company assured traders that this incident would not alter the fundamental value of the AIXBT token, promising enhanced security following a server migration.
The response team acted swiftly after detecting the breach, notifying centralized exchanges of the hacker’s address, changing access keys, and initiating server migrations. Despite these remedial actions, AiXBT’s Base token suffered a nearly 20% decline over 24 hours, dropping to $0.0938. The market capitalization of AiXBT currently stands at $82.4 million, a significant drop from its peak of $755 million in mid-January.
This incident has raised concerns about potential security vulnerabilities in AI-driven trading platforms, even though the financial impact represents a small fraction of AiXBT’s overall market value.
AiXBT operates on the Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) and has quickly garnered popularity since its launch late last year, providing real-time cryptocurrency insights and attracting nearly half a million followers. Holding AiXBT tokens grants users access to the AiXBT Terminal, which delivers crucial market data and sentiment analysis.
