Popular decentralized exchange Balancer suffers hack, losing close to $1 million
Balancer, a popular decentralized exchange, recently experienced a hack, resulting in a loss of nearly $1 million. The hack occurred shortly after the team disclosed a critical vulnerability and urged liquidity providers to withdraw funds from vulnerable pools. The Balancer team acknowledged the exploit and is aware of the related vulnerability. Meir Dolev, founder and CTO of crypto security firm Cyvers, identified the hacker’s Ethereum address and noted that the attacker continues their operation. The exploit involved multiple flash loan attacks, where the attacker borrows a large amount of cryptocurrency, manipulates affected pools, and siphons funds from them.
Over 99.7% of liquidity initially at risk is now safe
Despite Balancer’s efforts to mitigate the vulnerability, the hackers managed to steal over $900,000, exceeding the amount initially mentioned by the team. The stolen funds came from the boosted pools that were affected by the vulnerability. Blockchain security firm BlockSec confirmed that the attacked pools were on the list provided by Balancer. Differences in token valuations may account for the disparity between the stolen amount and the initial risk assessment. Balancer emphasized that withdrawal is the only way to protect funds and has locked access to the pools, enabling withdrawals through a dedicated user interface. However, attackers persist in their attempts to steal funds as liquidity providers delay in withdrawing.
Hot Take: Balancer hack exposes vulnerabilities in decentralized exchanges
The recent hack on Balancer highlights the ongoing risks associated with decentralized exchanges. Despite efforts to address vulnerabilities and protect funds, attackers continue to exploit weaknesses in the system. This incident serves as a reminder for crypto users to exercise caution and stay informed about potential risks when participating in decentralized finance platforms. As the crypto industry evolves, it is crucial for both developers and users to prioritize security and implement robust measures to safeguard assets.
By
By
By
By
By
By