A hacker exploiting Orbit Chain’s cross-chain bridge caused the platform, which connects and transacts with many blockchains, to lose $81 million.
In a post on X, the group acknowledged the compromise, stating that before targeting Orbit Chain’s ethereum (ETH) vault, a hacker funded a wallet utilising the forbidden Tornado Cash privacy protocol. Afterwards, a number of Ethereum wallets received the hack’s proceeds. At the moment, these wallets contain around $18 million worth of the stablecoin dai (DAI) together with 26,741.6 ETH ($64 million). And Orbit Chain said the money is “unmoved.”
According to DefiLlama data, net outflows totaling $81.88 million were recorded on Orbit Chain, while total value locked (TVL) decreased from $152 million to $71 million.
Following the exploit, the platform’s native token, ORC, fell by more than 13%. CoinMarketCap reports that it has since rebounded to a market capitalization of $36 million.
In 2023, scams, rug pulls, and breaches cost cryptocurrency users up to $2 billion, according to an annual analysis by researchers at the security app De.Fi. Even while it’s just about half of what it will be in 2022, it shows that security dangers are still there in the sector.
According to Taylor Monahan, the developer of Metamask, the Orbit assault exhibits comparable characteristics to hacks executed by Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking group that has amassed $3 billion in fraudulent proceeds over the course of the last six years via flaws and hacks, as reported by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.