THORChain, a cross-chain liquidity network enabling users to swap between blockchains directly from their wallets, has confirmed that an exploit occurred on the network, prompting its security team to halt operations.
According to its official Telegram announcements channel, the attack left the protocol with approximately 13,000 ETH of value extracted from its chain. THORChain is a decentralized finance bridge for major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, as well as other prominent DeFi tokens.
“While the treasury has the funds to cover the stolen amount, we request the attacker get in contact with the team to discuss return of funds and a bounty commensurate with the discovery.” THORChain said in a statement on the matter of the exploit.
Following the attack, the protocol has ceased operations for security reasons, and has since advised node operators, liquidity providers, and swappers that their funds will be available as soon as the issue is patched and the network resumes in normal operational conditions.
“Problems like this highlight the resiliency of decentralized communities – Without any admin/dev intervention the community identified & halted THORChain within an hour. THORChain will emerge stronger after this attack.” THORChain stated.
The THORChain DeFi bridge is designed as a decentralized, anonymous, and oracle-free bridge between blockchains, and was built back in 2018 by a mostly anonymous team of developers participating in a hackathon. The protocol’s multi-chain “chaosnet” was launched early this year in April.
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