The Exactly Protocol, a decentralized crypto lending platform based on Optimism, fell victim to a bridge attack, resulting in a loss of about $12 million in ETH earlier today.
De.Fi, a blockchain security company, noted that the attacker leveraged a malicious contract on Ethereum to move deposits to Optimism and then funneled the pilfered funds back to Ethereum.
Following this breach, the protocol’s total value locked (TVL) witnessed a significant decline. Based on DeFi Llama’s data, the TVL of Protoco sharply dropped from $36 million to just below $26 million.
Following the bridge exploit, the protocol’s native governance token, EXA, experienced a drop of over 15%, with its current trading price at $4.91.
Given the novelty of the technology, cross-chain bridges have become a hotbed for cyberattacks. Last year, breaches related to bridge activities accounted for losses exceeding $2 billion, as disclosed by Chainalysis.
The Defi protocol publicly recognized the breach and communicated via a tweet that they are delving deep into the security lapse.
The tweet read, “For the safety of our users, the protocol has been temporarily halted (though asset withdrawals remain accessible). Our team is diligently working on the issue and will provide further updates promptly.”
DeFi Hack Coincides With Overall Downturn in Crypto Market.
The recent hacking event coincides with a broader downturn in the cryptocurrency market. Major altcoins like XRP, LTC, and BCH saw significant double-digit drops. Bitcoin, the dominant cryptocurrency, also dipped, touching a low of $25,200 before managing a minor rebound earlier in the day.
A tumultuous 24 hours saw liquidations amounting to nearly $1 billion as the entire crypto landscape grappled with sharp declines.
The increasing frequency of cross-bridge exploits is becoming a significant point of concern within the crypto sector.
In related news, Hundred Finance, a DeFi lending and borrowing platform operating on the Optimism [OP] network, encountered a severe breach on April 15. The incident resulted in the loss of crypto assets valued at around $7 million.
