Crypto Protocols Suffer Major Losses in 24-Hour Exploitation Spree
The cryptocurrency space experienced a significant security breach over the past 24 hours, with three prominent protocols – AFX Trade, BSquaredNetwork, and Verus – falling victim to exploits that collectively drained over $35 million in digital assets. The events have led some observers to dub the period “Hackers Day.”
AFX Trade Suffers Multi-Million Dollar Loss
On July 22, the Arbitrum-based protocol AFX Trade was targeted in an attack, resulting in an estimated loss of approximately $24.15 million in USDC, according to on-chain security firm PeckShieldAlert. The exploiter subsequently moved the stolen funds from Arbitrum to the Ethereum network, where they were swapped for 12,467.5 ETH.
BSquaredNetwork Drained of Tokens
Less than an hour after the AFX Trade incident, PeckShieldAlert reported that attackers had drained BSquaredNetwork of $8.59 million worth of B2 tokens on the BNB Chain, leading to a loss of roughly $3.86 million. The hackers then quickly exchanged the stolen tokens for over 5,000 WBNB, converted these into 1,128 ETH, and bridged the funds out via NEAR Intents. The exploit had an immediate market impact, with the price of B2 plummeting by over 15%.
Verus Protocol Hit by Second Major Exploit
Blockchain security firm Lookonchain alerted the public to another incident affecting the Ethereum-based cross-chain bridge, Verus protocol, which saw exploiters abscond with $7.55 million. This latest exploit occurs approximately two months after Verus suffered a separate loss of roughly $11.58 million. Blockaid noted that the July attack appears to be linked to the previous incident, citing the use of the same bridge contract, entry path, and bug class in both events.
Security Concerns Raised Over AFX Bridge
Steven Goldfeder, a contributor at Arbitrum, confirmed that the compromised bridge was operated independently by AFX and was not one of Arbitrum’s native bridges.
Meanwhile, on-chain security expert Taylor Monahan questioned the substantial amount of funds, $24 million, held on the AFX bridge. Monahan revealed that her review of a recently published audit of the bridge uncovered “terrifying” details. She stated that the protocol had minimal test coverage, acknowledged but unfixed issues flagged by auditors, and that auditors were unable to conduct a full code review due to receiving only partial access.
“Honestly, they seem like a super chill team. Ah yeah it’s probably fine we’ll just wait it out and then manually send if we need to,” Monahan commented, highlighting a perceived lax approach to security. She further explained that the technical vulnerabilities revealed a team culture that did not prioritize security, suggesting a concerning disregard for potential risks.
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