BtcTurk has suspended crypto withdrawals after a suspected $48 million hot wallet hack, with blockchain analysts tracing the stolen funds across multiple networks.
Turkish cryptocurrency exchange BtcTurk has paused crypto deposits and withdrawals following the detection of unusual activity in its hot wallets on August 14, 2025. The platform confirmed that the majority of assets remain secured in cold storage and assured customers that their holdings are unaffected. Trading services and Turkish Lira transactions continue without disruption.
Authorities have been informed, and BtcTurk says it is working with cybersecurity teams to secure its infrastructure and assess the scale of the breach.
Blockchain security firm Cyvers reported detecting approximately $48 million in suspicious transactions linked to the breach, involving assets such as Ether (ETH), Avalanche (AVAX), Arbitrum (ARB), Base (BASE), Optimism (OP), Mantle (MANTLE), and Polygon (MATIC). According to Cyvers, the attacker moved funds to two addresses before initiating swaps.
Loss estimates vary across analytics platforms. Lookonchain reported at least $23 million stolen, while CertiK put the figure closer to $50 million. CertiK’s data indicates that the stolen assets were moved across three wallets, including two Ethereum addresses.
The latest breach comes just over a year after a June 2024 incident in which BtcTurk lost roughly $55 million through unauthorized withdrawals from hot wallets. That event prompted swift intervention from Binance, which froze over $5.3 million in stolen funds.
Following the 2024 hack, CEO Özgür Güneri stepped down after seven years, with founder Kerem Tibuk assuming the role of acting CEO. The leadership change was part of BtcTurk’s broader expansion strategy targeting markets in Latin America, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.
While the suspected hack has not triggered a major sell-off, market analysts are watching ETH closely. The attacker’s conversion of stolen funds into Ether could add selling pressure if liquidated quickly. Technical levels place key resistance for ETH at $3,500 and support near $3,000; a break below could open the path to $2,800.
If market sentiment treats the breach as an isolated incident, ETH could rebound, supported by ongoing developments in Ethereum’s layer-2 ecosystem. On-chain data shows heightened transaction activity in the attacker-linked wallets, with ETH price fluctuations of around 1-2% in the hours following the breach.
Bitcoin has remained above $60,000, and some traders expect BTC dominance to rise if investors seek perceived safer assets. Institutional flows show mixed sentiment, with certain funds maintaining ETH exposure while others pivot to stablecoins or regulated equities tied to the crypto sector.
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