Unocoin Investigates On-Chain Transactions Broadcast Outside BitGo

Unocoin, an Indian crypto exchange, is investigating whether a backup mechanism in its multisignature wallets was exploited after transactions were signed and broadcast on-chain outside BitGo, leaving potential losses undetermined.

The company said it has received the information and clarifications it needed from BitGo. It said BitGo froze its corporate account on Nov. 6 at Unocoin’s direction, and that the freeze mechanism worked as expected. The transactions were signed and broadcast directly on-chain without passing through BitGo’s platform.

The concern involves a wallet backup design intended to preserve access to funds if BitGo became unavailable. Unocoin is investigating how the mechanism worked, whether crypto assets were lost and whether information privacy was affected. The company has not established the amount of any potential loss.

Unocoin first detected unauthorized activity on Nov. 6 and requested freezes for its BitGo and Fireblocks corporate accounts that day. After detecting further unauthorized activity on Nov. 9, it suspended all services. Its investigation and work to restore services are continuing.