Binance confirms a suspected exploit. In response to rising worries over a breach of the network’s official cross-chain bridge, Binance said it will stop accepting deposits and withdrawals using the BNB Smart Chain.
More than $400 million worth of BNB tokens were reported to have been moved from the Smart Chain token hub to a new address earlier on Thursday evening. DeBank data indicates that the address at issue is home to more than $500 million worth of cryptocurrency, including holdings in ETH, MATIC, and FTM.
Binance halted the BNB smart chain
The BNB Smart Chain was halted while there remained uncertainty about the precise nature of the transaction. According to a tweet from Binance, the network “is now undergoing maintenance.”
“We will suspend all deposits and withdrawals via the BNB chain temporarily until there are further updates.”
The exchange stated
“To confirm, we have suspended BSC after having determined a potential exploit. All systems are now contained, and we are immediately investigating the potential vulnerability. We know the Community will assist and help freeze any transfers.”
BNB Chain Twitter account
The wallet may have been hacked given the inconsistent on-chain activities. Tether, a stablecoin provider, has already intervened to ban the address and stop it from transmitting USDT to fresh wallets.
The CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, has released information regarding the event and verified that cross-chain bridge exploits occurred.
“The current impact estimate is around $100m USD equivalent, about a quarter of the last BNB burn.”
CZ
Furthermore, Binance acknowledged on Reddit that funds valued between $100 million and $110 million had first been transferred off the BNB Chain. However, Binance stated that assets worth $7 million had been blocked in response to worrying comments from security personnel and community members.
BNB chain is up and running
In a statement, Binance stated that the BSC validators are working together to bring back the chain “in an hour” using the most recent release. Theoretically, this would inhibit natural cross-chain communication between BSC and BNB Beacon Chain and prevent hacker accounts from acting.
Chain validators were attempting to roll out an upgrade that will freeze compromised accounts; as a result, the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is anticipated to be operational again by 06:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
In one of the latest updates, the team announced that the BNB chain is up and running.