Kronos Research
Last changed 2026-11-02 · Fact-check review — Fact-check review (verdict: revise): the reviewer checked the page's claims against its sources; the trust score did not change. Version history →
Why this score
| Every page starts at | 65 |
| Incidents it suffered (e.g. hacks) | -12.8 |
| Problems around it, caused by others | -0.8 |
| Long-running | +10 |
| Sum | 61 |
Score: 61/100 (kept between 0 and 100)
How scoring works →Page reliability: Fact-checked 2026-11-02 · 6 of 7 claims confirmed · 1 need better sources
anchored·4LCRNz…smtsSummary
Kronos Research is a Taipei-based cryptocurrency quantitative trading firm and market maker founded in 2018 by Mark Pimentel and Jack Tan. The firm experienced two serious security incidents within months of each other in 2023: an insider sabotage case in which two disgruntled engineers tampered with trading code causing $1.4 million in losses, and an external hack in November 2023 where compromised API keys led to the theft of approximately $25–26 million. The November hack cascaded onto WOO X, an exchange Kronos incubated and served as primary liquidity provider, causing a temporary trading halt and liquidations for 227 users.
Connected Entities
4 entities · 60 linked investigations- Kronos Research→mentioned with→Binance(60%)
- Kronos Research→mentioned with→ZachXBT(60%)
- Kronos Research→mentioned with→Alameda Research(80%)
- Binance→mentioned with→Alameda Research(80%)
- ZachXBT→mentioned with→Binance(60%)
- Alameda Research→associated with→Binance(75%)
- Alameda Research→mentioned with→Binance(70%)
Timeline(9 events)
June 2018
Kronos Research founded in Taipei, Taiwan by Mark Pimentel and Jack Tan.
2019
Kronos Research incubates WOO Network (later WOO X) and becomes its primary backstop liquidity provider.
27 August 2023
Two disgruntled former engineers convicted in Taipei court for tampering with Kronos Research trading algorithms over unpaid bonuses, causing $1.4 million in losses.
18 November 2023
Unauthorized party accesses Kronos Research exchange API keys and begins draining approximately $25–26 million across multiple exchanges. WOO X halts all trading at approximately 21:00 UTC due to liquidity shortage.
19 November 2023
Kronos Research publicly discloses the API key hack via X. Firm states losses will be covered internally with no partners affected. WOO X fully restores operations within approximately 11 hours.
21 November 2023
WOO X publishes transparency report detailing 227 user liquidations during the liquidity gap and confirms full user compensation.
28 November 2023
Kronos Research publicly offers hacker a 10% bounty (approximately $2.5 million) to return 90% of stolen funds, with a deadline of November 30, 2023 08:00 UTC and threat of legal action.
30 November 2023
Kronos Research bounty deadline passes with no return of funds reported.
May 2024
Hacker begins laundering stolen funds through Tornado Cash, moving approximately $4 million in 10 batches of 100 ETH.
Decision Log
- slot 464345750 · hash 47PXdgQARdYS4DepVYz5dx51wuoXtWQLiCFM44Amt1FM
- slot 464345746 · hash CYe6m6wRDnCXe2diKrzeQi3NLn1NZxHHpqeAqpXMsGup
- slot 455365391 · hash 6ouqyrSGq7PFixh4wQC8mMBW5GzEL58BivREARkGbSWJ
- slot 421014708 · hash F3xKxey26xkaXTPcAXjiRYAJxn3zZTXG8xkNoCsvuBf1
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (4 decisions). 13 of 15 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/4/2026, 2:54:37 AM
last updated: 11/2/2026, 3:33:54 AM
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