Turkish Crypto Exchange BtcTurk Targeted by Cyberattack, $48 Million Stolen

A major cyberattack has targeted Turkish crypto exchange BtcTurk, resulting in the theft of approximately $48 million in digital assets. The attack was reported by blockchain security firm Cyvers on Aug. 14, revealing that the stolen funds were transferred across various networks, including Ethereum, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Base, Optimism, Mantle, and Polygon.

The majority of the stolen assets were moved to two specific addresses, where the attacker has begun swapping them. BtcTurk confirmed the hack in a post on X, stating that only hot wallets were impacted. As one of the largest crypto exchanges in Turkey with over five million users, the firm reassured customers that most assets are securely stored in cold wallets and that trading operations are unaffected.

“During checks conducted on August 14, 2025, unusual activity was detected in our hot wallets. As a precaution, cryptocurrency deposit and withdrawal transactions have been temporarily suspended. These services will be reactivated once the work is completed.”

The company emphasized that customer holdings are safe and that Turkish Lira transactions are continuing as usual. BtcTurk has notified authorities and is working closely with cybersecurity teams to enhance its infrastructure security.

This incident is not the first time BtcTurk has experienced a hacking attempt. A year ago, the exchange’s hot wallets were targeted, resulting in losses exceeding $55 million. At that time, only a portion of cryptocurrencies in hot wallets were affected, while cold wallet holdings remained untouched.

Centralized Exchanges Facing Ongoing Threats

The recent cyberattack on BtcTurk adds to the growing number of security breaches that centralized crypto trading platforms have encountered this year. Earlier in 2025, Bybit, a prominent crypto exchange, fell victim to a hack that stole around $1.5 billion in Ethereum tokens. Similarly, other major exchanges like CoinDCX in India have also suffered significant losses, totaling over $44 million.

Mentioned in this article:

The challenges of securing digital assets on centralized exchanges highlight the importance of robust cybersecurity measures in the rapidly evolving crypto landscape.