Bitcoin DeFi project ALEX exploited again, aBTC and sBTC depeg

by Lester White

Comely over a three hundred and sixty five days after a suspected non-public key hack, “Bitcoin DeFi” platform ALEX Protocol has been exploited all all over again, this time with losses estimated at $14 million.

The team in the beginning announced a security incident, following reviews of a hack circulating on X, sooner than later publishing a more detailed incident document. The challenge’s web web recount stays “below repairs.”

Read more: At the least $25M misplaced across three incidents in busy day for crypto hackers

The document aspects to a arena with accurately figuring out failed transactions on Stacks, a DeFi-centered layer two scaling solution for the Bitcoin network.

This allowed the attacker to bypass checks the utilization of files from a failed transaction and withdraw the funds.

The “partial loss of funds” quantities to an estimated $14 million, consistent with crypto security company QuillAudits. Amongst the tokens stolen became as soon as 63.5 wrapped bitcoin (aBTC and sBTC), both of which hold depegged very much upon being equipped off by the hacker.

Similarly, the worth of Stacks’ STX is down approximately 10% on the day, and the platform’s hold ALEX token is down over 50%.

Other Stacks-essentially based entirely initiatives hold confirmed that the exploit is contained to the ALEX Protocol, nonetheless Pontis has paused its bridge to bear funds at some level of the network, and Bitflow, Stacks’ replace aggregator, is getting rid of the affected pools from its routes.

Read more: Counterfeit crypto pockets in App Retailer for four years drained $120K in Stacks

Final Would possibly per chance well furthermore, in what Certik suspected became as soon as a non-public key compromise, $4.3 million became as soon as eliminated from ALEX Protocol’s XLink bridge connecting the challenge to Binance’s BNB Chain.

In spite of the protection upgrades and the migration of replace and token contracts that followed, the adjustments hold it sounds as if proved insufficient to forestall right this moment time’s scheme more costly attack.

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