Harmony traces over 10,000 transfers linked to fraudulent tokens after massive exploit

Harmony, the Layer-1 blockchain protocol, has mapped out a sprawling web of unauthorized token transfers after an exploit flooded the network with billions of freshly minted ONE tokens. The team identified 10,288 transactions funneling fraudulent tokens into 409 distinct wallets. Approximately 4 billion ONE tokens were minted without authorization. That figure represents roughly 26% of Harmony’s entire prior token supply. How the exploit unfolded The attacker exploited a vulnerability involving empty blocks to mint the tokens, a technique that bypassed normal validation mechanisms on the network. Around 2.8 billion of the fraudulently minted ONE tokens were quickly routed toward various cryptocurrency exchanges. ONE’s price cratered between 26% and over 50% intraday as traders digested the news. Harmony’s team moved to alert exchange partners, asking them to freeze any funds tied to the implicated wallets. Harmony’s emergency response Beyond contacting exchanges, Harmony deployed a software patch designed to close the vulnerability that enabled the exploit. The team also paused its bridge, cutting off a potential avenue for the attacker to move tokens cross-chain. Perhaps the most ...