US cryptocurrency company Harmony suffered a $ 100 million robbery

A California-based company said the robbers hit a tool for transferring cryptocurrencies between different blockchains

                    So far in 2022, more than $ 1 billion has been stolen from blockchain bridges.

Harmony, a US cryptocurrency company, said on Friday that a thief stole about $ 100 million worth of digital coins from one of its key products. This is the latest in a series of cyber robbers in the sector that have long been exposed to hacker attacks. Harmony is developing so-called decentralized finance (peer-to-peer sites that provide loans and other services without  traditional gatekeepers such as banks) and non-fungible token blockchains.

 

The California-based company said the robbers hit the Horizon's "bridge." This is the underlying software used in digital tokens such as Bitcoin and Ether, a tool used to transfer cryptocurrencies between different blockchains. Theft has long plagued businesses in  crypto space. Blockchain bridges are becoming more and more targeted. By 2022, more than $ 1 billion had been stolen from the bridge so far, according to London-based blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.

Harmony tweeted, "We will work with state authorities and forensic scientists to identify the perpetrators and recover the stolen funds," without giving  details. We did not immediately respond to requests for comments sent via email or social media.

 

According to Elliptic, which tracks publicly visible blockchain data,  hackers stole various cryptocurrencies from Harmony, including Ether, Tether, and USD Coin, and later exchanged them for Ether through so-called decentralized exchanges.

 

 In March, hackers stole about $ 615 million worth of cryptocurrencies from the Ronin Bridge used to transfer cryptocurrencies inside and outside the  Axie Infinity game. The United States has linked North Korean hackers to  one of the most common thefts to date.