Feb 3 (Reuters) - Hackers have stolen cryptocurrency worth more than $320 million from a decentralised finance platform, the fourth-largest crypto heist on record and the latest to shake the fast-growing DeFi sector.

Wormhole, a site that allows the transfer of information from one crypto network to another, said on Twitter on Wednesday that it was "exploited" for 120,000 units of a version of the second-largest cryptocurrency, ether.

Wormhole did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

London-based blockchain analysis firm Elliptic said that attackers were able to fraudulently create the wETH tokens, almost 94,000 of which were later transferred to the ethereum blockchain, which powers transactions for ether.

Wormhole said in another tweet early on Thursday that it had fixed the vulnerability in its system but was still working to get the network back up.

So-called DeFi platforms allow users to lend, borrow and save - usually in cryptocurrencies - while bypassing traditional gatekeepers of finance such as banks.

Cash has poured into DeFi sites, mirroring the explosion of interest in cryptocurrencies as a whole. Many investors, facing historically low or sub-zero interest rates, are drawn to DeFi by the promise of high returns on savings.

Yet with their breakneck growth, DeFi platforms have emerged as a major hacking risk, with bugs in code and design flaws allowing criminals to target DeFi sites and deep pools of liquidity, and also to launder the proceeds of crime, while leaving few traces. read more

Fraud and theft at DeFi platforms surpassed $10 billion last year, research showed on Thursday, laying bare the risks in the fast-growing but mostly unregulated area of cryptocurrencies. read more

In August, hackers behind likely the biggest ever digital coin heist returned nearly all of the $610 million-plus they stole from the DeFi site Poly Network. read more

Hacks have long plagued crypto platforms. In 2018, digital tokens worth some $530 million were stolen from Tokyo-based platform Coincheck. Mt. Gox, another Japanese exchange, collapsed in 2014 after hackers stole half a billion dollars of crypto.

USA SEC delays decision on Bitwise spot bitcoin ETF listing

Feb 1 (Reuters) - The USA Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday it had not decided on whether to allow the listing of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund by Bitwise Asset Management, and asked for public comments on aspects of the fund's application.

The regulator said it would institute proceedings to decide whether to approve or reject the listing of Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust on Intercontinental Exchange Inc's (ICE.N) NYSE Arca exchange.

The delay comes after the SEC has denied spot bitcoin ETFs by several issuers in recent months, including Fidelity, SkyBridge, and Valkyrie, all of which sought to provide easy exposure to the digital currency. read more

The SEC in October approved two bitcoin futures-based funds, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF and the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which made their Wall Street debuts the same month. read more

In delaying the Bitwise ETF, the SEC asked any interested parties to send it comments on certain parts of the ETF application, including on the expected volume of the ETF, as well as whether it could become a predominant influence on prices in bitcoin futures trading on CME Group's exchange (CME.O).

The price of bitcoin has lost nearly half its value in recent months, having hit a six-month low of $32,950 on Jan. 24, from a peak of $69,000 hit in November. The world's biggest cryptocurrency was last trading at around $38,650.