Turkey’s Bitcoin Trading Platform BtcTurk Hacked: $48 Million Stolen – Are Crypto Exchanges Safe?

Founded on July 1, 2013, in Istanbul, BtcTurk is Turkey’s oldest cryptocurrency exchange and was the fourth such platform to launch globally

On August 14, 2025, it experienced a significant security breach involving its hot wallets.

Approximately $48 million worth of digital assets were transferred out of the platform’s wallets, prompting the exchange to temporarily suspend all cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals.

While cold wallets and fiat trading remained safe, this incident marks BtcTurk’s second major hack in just over a year, raising serious questions about the security of centralized exchanges and how users store their crypto.

Details of the Breach

Initially described as a vague “technical issue,” the breach quickly emerged as a coordinated, multi-network attack

Blockchain security firm Cyvers reported that the stolen assets included Ether (ETH), Avalanche (AVAX), Arbitrum (ARB), Base (BASE), Optimism (OP), Mantle (MNT), and Polygon (MATIC)

Most of the stolen funds ended up in just two main wallets, with hackers immediately starting to launder the assets to obscure their origin.

Cryptocurrency Thefts Soar in 2025

In 2025, cryptocurrency theft has reached unprecedented levels, with over $4.3 billion stolen by mid-year, surpassing the total losses of 2024.

The most significant incident was the $1.5 billion hack of Bybit, a Dubai-based exchange, attributed to the North Korean Lazarus Group. This breach alone accounted for approximately 69% of the year’s stolen funds.

Other notable breaches include the $44 million theft from India’s CoinDCX exchange in July and a $90 million hack of Iran’s Nobitex exchange by an Israel-linked group.

These incidents highlight the increasing sophistication and scale of cyberattacks targeting the cryptocurrency industry.

Which Crypto Exchanges Are Safe

The BtcTurk breach exposes persistent vulnerabilities in centralized exchanges, which remain prime targets for hackers due to the vast amounts of assets they hold.

The incident demonstrates the advantages of using self-custody wallets: not only do they offer stronger anonymity, but they also ensure users maintain full control over their funds, avoiding withdrawal freezes or access restrictions.

While exchanges provide convenience, true security and freedom come from managing your own wallet.

In a year marked by record thefts, managing your own wallet is increasingly becoming the safest way to protect crypto holdings.

Best Crypto Wallet

Considering that the BtcTurk attack has happened at a time when people’s trust in centralized exchanges is at an all-time low, decentralized crypto wallets, especially Best Wallet, are once again gaining attention

As with every high-quality DeFi wallet, Best Wallet uses a self-custody model. What this implies is that users’ private keys do not leave their devices, giving them full control and better protection against the kinds of attacks common with CEXs

Adding an extra layer of protection is its state-of-the-art security architecture, powered by cutting-edge features like Fireblocks, biometric options, thorough encryption, scam filters, 2FA, and a whole lot more

Fireblocks, for example, uses a non-custodial MPC system to split user private keys into two – one half stored on its server while the other half is stored on devices. This innovative approach eliminates any single point of failure that hackers can exploit while keeping all assets insured

However, Best Wallet’s strong security system doesn’t mean it has compromised other core aspects, particularly its trading functionalities. Thanks to its multichain, multi-wallet features, the Web3 wallet is shaping up to become a go-to hub for all things crypto, offering far more than traditional wallets

Alongside secure storage and fiat payments, the wallet offers cross-chain swaps, portfolio management, staking perks, and a token launchpad, all in a single unified interface. The latest upgrade, v2.10, expands its multichain capabilities by adding Solana to the list of supported chains, which already includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, Binance Smart Chain, and Base

The new update also added support for native Bitcoin swaps, Korean language, point-based reward systems, and a new onramp provider Wert, catering to users from countries where other on-ramp providers are not available.

Reputable publications like the New York Post and Money have positively reviewed the platform’s offerings, listing it among the best crypto wallets to buy Bitcoin in 2025. ClayBro, a leading name in the industry with over 136k YouTube subscribers, shares a similar sentiment, recently calling it an excellent pick, especially as centralized risks grow too high to ignore

Download Best Wallet

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