Paolo Ardoino, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Bitfinex, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, has dismissed claims by a hacking group called Fsociety that it had hacked Bitfinex's database and leaked 22,500 customer emails and passwords. Ardoino stated that the claims "seem fake" and provided several reasons to support his assertion.

In a post on the social media platform X, Ardoino explained that if the hacking group indeed had access to such sensitive information, they would have likely demanded a ransom payment. However, Bitfinex has not received any ransom request through their bug bounty program, customer support channels, emails, or social media platforms.

Ardoino further clarified that Bitfinex does not store plaintext passwords or two-factor authentication (2FA) secrets in clear text, making it highly unlikely that the hackers could have obtained such sensitive information from Bitfinex's database.

Regarding the alleged leak of 22,500 records containing emails and passwords, Ardoino stated that only 5,000 of those records matched with actual Bitfinex users. He suggested that the hackers may have compiled data from various other cryptocurrency-related data breaches, as many users tend to reuse the same email and password combinations across multiple platforms.

Ardoino shared a message from a security researcher who believes that the hackers were claiming to have hacked Bitfinex as a way to promote a data retrieval hacking tool. The researcher stated, "So by creating a buzz about successfully hacking well-known companies/a university, it is an advertisement of how good their tool is and others should buy it so they can make millions of dollars by using it to exploit companies using this tool."

Ardoino assured Bitfinex users that the exchange would continue investigating the situation, but no breach has been detected so far, and all funds are safe.

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This is not the first time Bitfinex has faced scrutiny over data breach concerns. In November 2023, Cointelegraph reported a minor information security incident at Bitfinex when one of its customer support agents was hacked, resulting in a series of phishing attacks targeting Bitfinex users. However, Bitfinex stated that little harm occurred due to the incident.

Ardoino's statement aims to address the claims made by the hacking group Fsociety and reassure Bitfinex users about the security of their funds and personal information. As cybersecurity threats continue to evolve, exchanges and other cryptocurrency platforms must remain vigilant and transparent in addressing potential vulnerabilities and maintaining the trust of their users.