Built by Huobi, among the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, HECO Network—a decentralized blockchain platform—will officially discontinue conclude its offerings on January 15, marking the end of a significant period in its history.
Last year, HECO Bridge was compromised resulting in an $87 million theft.
Owners of HRC20 tokens are encouraged to reclaim their assets before the network terminates. Impacted HRC20 tokens include HRC20ETH, HRC20TUSD, HRC20LINK, HRC20USDC, HRC20UNI, HRC20SHIB, HRC20HBTC, and HRC20USDT, as detailed in a statement from November 24.
Possessors of these tokens are advised to transfer their assets to the specified address by January 10, 2025, to prevent potential financial losses. These assets will be transformed into points, which will subsequently be exchanged for a new token called HTX.
The Fall of HECO
The HTX token will be disseminated in 12 equal portions, commencing January 15, 2025. During the redemption process, users need to provide their TRON network address to receive their HTX allocation.
Debuting in December 2020, HECO set out to create a cost-effective and efficient space for developers aiming to construct decentralized applications (dApps) and participate in decentralized finance (DeFi).
The blockchain has been a fundamental component in the evolution of the Huobi ecosystem. At its pinnacle in 2021, HECO Network’s TVL (Total Value Locked) was close to $3 billion.
Despite its contributions, the blockchain faced challenges due to an enduring market slump and competition with growing rivals.
Layer-1 blockchain titans like Ethereum, Solana, and Binance Smart Chain maintain their lead. New entrants such as Avalanche and TRON pose further threats to HECO's standing. Additionally, a major hack compelled users to migrate to other platforms.
Hacks Kill Platforms
In November 2023, the HECO Bridge was exploited This breach led to about $87 million worth of cryptocurrency being stolen. The perpetrators reportedly accessed the bridge's private key, stealing a significant sum of Ether and Tether.
Concurrently with the HECO Bridge breach, cryptocurrency exchange HTX, another crucial Huobi ecosystem project, encountered a breach, with about $30 million siphoned from its hot wallets.
The sequence of hacks also targeted Poloniex, an exchange backed by Justin Sun, culminating in losses exceeding $100 million.
Post-hacks, HTX implemented security measures for remaining assets. Sun affirmed that HTX would completely cover losses resulting from these security breaches.
HTX—once known as Huobi—was taken over by TRON’s founder in 2020. Early this year, Sun announced that the platform’s original token, HT, was fully swapped for a new token, HTX. This changeover replaced most HT-linked perks with HTX equivalents, including deductions on transaction fees.
Beyond the token conversion, HTX also unveiled HTX DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization anchored on the HTX governance token. This DAO was established to boost community oversight and transparency.
The conversion stirred debate amongst cryptocurrency enthusiasts. Some users perceived the shift as a betrayal of the original Heco chain and HT token, especially after a hack impacting both HTX and Heco.
Falling Prices
Statistics from CoinGecko reveal that HTX DAO’s HTX token slipped by 5% to $0.00000178 following the announcement regarding HECO's closure. The price hovers now around $0.00000183, noting a 2% drop in the preceding 24 hours.
This decline may partly relate to Bitcoin's recent downturn. Bitcoin dipped below $96,000 on Sunday, later rebounding above $98,000.
Nevertheless, the HTX token observed a 9% growth over the week. Over the past month, its value has risen by 27%.
Earlier this year, Huobi Korea—a cryptocurrency exchange birthed as Huobi Global's South Korean arm (now HTX)—revealed its closure. This move followed the dissolution of its relationship with HTX in January 2023, citing an unfriendly business environment.
Several local exchanges, including Cashierest and Coinbit, also declared shutdowns around that period, owing to tough market conditions and rising competition.
