Paolo Ardoino, Chief Technology Officer of Bitfinex, refutes rumors suggesting a recent database exploit on the crypto exchange. Despite reports over the weekend indicating a potential leak of 22,500 records of emails and passwords supposedly from Bitfinex users, Ardoino dismissed the alleged breach as likely fake.

He mentioned that only a small portion of the leaked data matched the exchange's users, emphasizing Bitfinex's practice of not storing plaintext passwords or 2FA secrets in clear text. Ardoino also questioned the legitimacy of the hackers' claims, noting their failure to directly contact the exchange.

While the hacker group announced the breach on April 25, Bitfinex was only made aware of it a day before the stated deadline. Ardoino highlighted that various security researchers rushed to publicize the breach, but investigation revealed that the hackers compiled a database of emails and passwords likely obtained from different crypto breaches, as many users unfortunately use the same credentials across multiple sites.

Despite this, Ardoino assured continued review of information to ensure thorough investigation. Meanwhile, Alice from Shinoji Research, one of the accounts that spread the Bitfinex database leak claim, retracted the statement, revealing that the "Flocker" group curated a list of BitFinex logins from other breaches to fabricate a ransom demand for a major breach.

Alice suggested that the hackers exploited the rumor to attract potential investors for future hacks, distancing them from the real FLocker group from a few years ago.