Crypto.com users report suspicious wallet activity, exchange pauses withdrawals

The exchange has not clarified the nature of the suspicious activity, but users are claiming mysterious loss of money

Earlier today, Crypto.com said it was temporarily pausing withdrawals as it confirmed receiving reports from some users claiming suspicious activity in their wallets. The exchange noted that it was looking into the matter and assured users of their holdings' safety.

"We have a small number of users reporting suspicious activity on their accounts. We will be pausing withdrawals shortly, as our team is investigating. All funds are safe," a tweet from the exchange's Twitter account read.

Some users responding to the tweet claim to have messaged the exchange about the issue hours before the announcement. For instance, Entrepreneur and jeweller Ben Baller claimed that he'd lost 4.28 ETH, not comprehending how the two-factor authentication got beat.

"I messaged yah guys hours ago about my account having 4.28ETH stolen out of nowhere, and I'm also wondering how they got passed the 2FA?" he replied.

In what he labelled "a lot of theft," the Icee Fresh Jewels founder pointed to a series of between 2ETH to 5ETH transactions that were getting channelled to wallets with a single-transaction history. Furthermore, he added that there were even losses exceeding 17+ETH in some cases.

"…Because a lot of theft is going on and if you check etherscan.io from the Crypto.com wallet address. You'll see a bunch of 2ETH to 5ETH transactions being sent to wallets with single transactions. How did it bypass 2FA?" another tweet read.

The exchange had not given an update or shared any communication on the matter as of press time.

Crypto.com Capital's expansion plans knock on Jon Russell's door

Crypto.com's investment arm Crypto.com Capital in March 2021, launched a $200 million fund geared towards investment in crypto startups and series A deals in areas including NFTs, the metaverse, and DeFi.

Today, the investment wing announced that it is expanding this Web3 fund, throwing prominent tech journalist Jon Russell into the mix. Russell, a former TechCrunch journalist, will become the Asia-based general partner for the wing.

"I've had offers to move into crypto full-time before, but Crypto.com is the most ambitious company in web3. The Crypto.com Capital fund brings a very unique advantage to help the world's best web3 founders and startups to realise their potential, and I can't wait to play my part," said the new Asia-based general partner.

Previously working with leading platforms such as The Ken and TechCrunch, Russell has decent exposure in the world of startups. He started writing around cryptocurrency markets in 2014 and has also interacted with a fair number of top executives in the sector throughout his career.

Russell will now be working with Crypto.com co-founder Bobby Bao to add to the more than 20 deals completed by the company. These include agreements with Genies, DeBank, Efinity, and Matter Labs.