Earlier this month, the hacks of New Zealand-based Cryptopia cryptocurrency exchange rang alarm bells through the crypto-community. $16 Million worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen from various wallets owned by Cryptopia. In another attack, hackers have now managed to steal another $180,000 worth of Ether (ETH) from the same exchange, new reports indicate.

This second attack on the exchange resulted in the loss of 1,675 ETH cryptocurrencies worth $180,000. Over 17,000 wallets were affected in this fresh round of hacks. This was reported by Elementus, a blockchain data analysis firm. Earlier, the firm had reported that at least 1,948 wallets on Cryptopia were still at risk. These wallets are among the 17,000 wallets that have been hacked in this attack.

These funds began to move at 6:59 AM on the 28th of January - and the attack continued almost throughout the day. These hacked funds were then sent over to this wallet address. As of this writing, the wallet holds 0 ETH. A total of 17278 transactions were made, with the final one showing a consolidated total of 1,675.960122616657296 ETH being moved to another address.

Early on, when this activity was spotted, many assumed that this is Cryptopia transferring the remaining funds on their platform to a secure address. However, by later in the day, it had become rather clear that this is, in fact, another hacking attack. Cryptopia has denied to comment on this fresh round of hacks.

Elementus, in their report, points out that while Cryptopia has remained silent about it, this is a clear indication that the exchange no longer has control over their Ethereum wallets and these wallets have been fully compromised by the hackers. What is another surprising finding is that even two weeks after the initial, $16 Million hack, some users continue to trust Cryptopia and have been depositing and storing their funds on the platform.

Another explanation as to why deposits are still being made in these hacked Cryptopia wallets is that these payments come from mining pools. The Elementus report points out that a majority of these funds are actually coming from mining pools. It can hence be assumed that these are automatic payments which miners are getting as block rewards for their mining efforts. These miners might have either been unknown about the Cryptopia hack, or were waiting for a larger fund to consolidate in their account before cashing out. At the moment, Cryptopia does not appear safe for storing funds.

The Police in New Zealand have since been investigating the matter. The police claim to have made “good progress” in the matter and that “positive lines of enquiry are being developed to identify the source of the transfer, and to identify where the cryptocurrencies have been sent.”

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