Turkish Crypto Exchange BtcTurk Halts Operations Following Suspected $49 Million Theft

Red Dog Security

15 Aug 2025 — 1 min read

BtcTurk, one of Turkey’s largest cryptocurrency platforms, has temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals after detecting suspicious outflows totaling an estimated $49 million.

Founded in 2013 in Istanbul, BtcTurk is widely recognized as Turkey’s first crypto trading platform and gained national prominence in 2020 as a major sponsor of the country’s men’s and women’s football teams.

On August 14, 2025, the exchange confirmed it had suffered a cybersecurity incident, launching an investigation after unusual activity was detected in its hot wallets.

According to an official statement, law enforcement has been notified, and normal deposit and withdrawal operations will resume once the investigation is complete.

“The vast majority of assets are securely stored in our cold wallets. Thanks to BtcTurk’s robust financial structure, this incident will not impact user funds,” the company said. “Trading, as well as deposits and withdrawals in Turkish lira, continue to operate without disruption.”

Suspected Private Key Leak
Blockchain security firm PeckShield believes the breach may have been caused by a leaked private key controlling the exchange’s hot wallets. Analysts noted that by the time the incident was disclosed, the attackers had already begun laundering the stolen funds—rapidly converting tokens into other cryptocurrencies to hinder tracing efforts.

Nearly half of the stolen assets were converted to Ethereum (ETH) overnight, making recovery highly unlikely, according to PeckShield.

Not the First Breach
This marks the second major security incident for BtcTurk in as many years. In 2024, the exchange reported an “unauthorized withdrawal” from several hot wallets, resulting in losses of approximately $55 million.

Key Details

Platform: BtcTurk (Turkey’s oldest cryptocurrency exchange)
Estimated Loss: $49 million (hot wallets compromised)
Suspected Cause: Private key leak (PeckShield analysis)
Hacker Tactics: Rapid token swaps to Ethereum to evade tracking
User Impact: Trading and Turkish lira transactions remain operational; cold wallets unaffected

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