Tron's Justin Sun Announces ‘Epic Airdrop’ in Wake of HTX, Heco, and Poloniex Hacks

In the aftermath of September’s HTX breach, along with the subsequent attacks on Poloniex and Heco Bridge in November, HTX faced yet another security breach on November 23, resulting in a loss of $30 million. HTX announced its commitment to “fully compensate” for the financial damages caused by the hack. Additionally, on Friday, Tron’s founder, Justin Sun, declared on the social media platform X that not only would the losses be recouped, but the team also intends to launch an “epic airdrop.”

Justin Sun’s Response to Several Hacks — An ‘Epic Airdrop’ in the Pipeline

Since late September, three cryptocurrency platforms associated with Tron’s Justin Sun — HTX, Poloniex, and Heco Bridge — have experienced security breaches, cumulatively losing millions. On September 25, 2023, Sun revealed that HTX suffered a breach, resulting in the loss of 5,000 ether, valued at approximately $8 million at the time.

Following this, on November 10, 2023, Poloniex faced a security lapse, leading to a loss of around $114 million. Barely 12 days passed before another attack hit HTX’s Heco Chain, with hackers siphoning off $86.6 million from the cross-chain bridge platform.

Subsequently, HTX reported a $30 million loss due to a hacking incident the next day, assuring its users of full reimbursement. HTX emphasized that this loss was “extremely small compared to the total funds of the platform.” On Friday, Sun turned to social media, informing his 3.4 million followers on X that both exchanges were set to resume deposits and withdrawals after a temporary suspension.

Additionally, the co-founder of Tron outlined that a new token would emerge from this incident. Sun said:

As HTX and Poloniex approach opening [deposits and withdrawals], we will initiate an epic airdrop for users with assets. Please stay tuned! My deepest apologies to the users affected by the hacker attacks on HTX and Poloniex. We will cover the loss and All assets [are] SAFE.

Poloniex has announced that it anticipates the resumption of withdrawals and deposits on November 30, 2023. The exchange advised its users to utilize new deposit addresses, rather than relying on previously used ones. On Friday at noon Eastern Time (ET), HTX reinstated Tron deposits and withdrawals, following the temporary halt.