In an unexpected turn of events, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, recently found itself entangled in a scam token incident involving Aptos (APT). The incident, which initially raised concerns over APT’s stability, took a surprising twist that defied expectations.
Upbit made a significant move on September 24, when it decided to suspend all Aptos token services following an unusual deposit attempt. This prompted an extensive examination of their wallet system to ascertain the root cause of the issue.
The trail led to the discovery of a deceptive APT token known as ClaimAPTGift.com, as revealed in a tweet by Definalist, a reputable and vigilant account operating within the cryptocurrency and cybersecurity community. This fraudulent token, which came into existence on September 21, managed to find its way into the wallets of a staggering 400,000 Aptos users, leaving many puzzled about its sudden appearance.
⚡️How did such a huge and foolish incident occur?
– It seems that during the process of reflecting $APT coin deposits, there was a failure to check the type arguments, and all same functions transfers were recognized as the same APT native token.
– Under normal circumstances,… https://t.co/CvDgTdqnGl pic.twitter.com/8gEx5YnOLH— Definalist (@definalist) September 24, 2023
Typically, such tokens are associated with airdrop scams, a strategy where tokens are distributed to users, often leading them to phishing websites. What sets this incident apart is the failure of Upbit to properly scrutinize the source code of these scam tokens, which led the exchange to mistakenly validate the fake tokens as genuine Aptos tokens.
As a result, unsuspecting users found themselves in possession of APT tokens they had not intentionally acquired, while others took advantage of the situation by selling these bogus tokens for profit. Upbit’s customer center has now initiated the process of seeking refunds from those who sold the fake APT tokens.
However, the aftermath of this incident defied expectations. Contrary to concerns about a potential price plummet, APT’s response was surprising. Current live price of Aptos (APT) stands at $5.43 , and over the past 24 hours, it has witnessed a substantial trading volume of $423.9M.
Market indicators for APT also pointed toward bullish sentiment. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) exhibited an upward trend, as did the token’s Money Flow Index (MFI). Furthermore, APT’s MACD signaled a bullish market, suggesting the possibility of continued upward price movement.
Despite the initial alarm, Upbit has resolved the issue and has since resumed Aptos (APT) deposits and withdrawals, signaling a return to normalcy. This incident serves as a reminder of the need for rigorous security measures within the cryptocurrency space, highlighting the importance of thorough code verification to prevent such scams from impacting users and the market.
