The Hedera network (HBAR) appears to have been hit by a significant exploit that has resulted in losses surpassing $5 million. Blockchain analyst Specter first highlighted the situation over the weekend.
According to on-chain data, the attacker siphoned off the stolen assets and converted them into Ethereum (ETH). This amount has been steadily escalating since the initial report of the theft.
Details of the Attack
In their analysis, Specter noted that the hacker utilized LayerZero (ZRO) to bridge the funds from Hedera to Ethereum. The illicitly acquired assets were initially in Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) before being exchanged for ETH.
The total amount being tracked jumped alarmingly from $3.7 million to above $4 million, eventually exceeding the $5 million mark. The security firm PeckShield assessed that the total amount bridged was around $5.25 million. They indicated that the attacker’s wallet contained roughly 2.36K ETH, valued at approximately $4.25 million, alongside 15.58 WBTC worth about $1 million.
PeckShield also revealed that the wallet was first funded with 1 ETH, funneled through Tornado Cash, a mixing service designed to obscure the origins of funds. Specific addresses linked to the theft have been flagged by Specter:
- 0x9A4966152F6e10b33Cb7a37975e8619816d6a494
- 0xaf20D792A19fD42dCf697ceBa6100291D96dD93e
This incident contributes to a broader trend of security challenges in the cryptocurrency space. A recent report from DefiLlama indicates that July alone saw three significant hacks targeting various crypto platforms, collectively leading to losses of over $28 million, including a $6 million breach of the Summer.fi DeFi protocol, along with a $20 million governance attack on BONK DAO.
Amid these rising security breaches, Hedera has not yet released an official statement regarding this particular exploit. As the story continues to develop, BeInCrypto has reached out for a comment from the Hedera team.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice.
