THORChain Halts Network After Suspected Multi-Chain Exploit Tops $10M
Security & Exploits ·
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT flagged a suspected exploit spanning four chains as RUNE fell sharply and the protocol triggered a global emergency halt.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT issued a community alert stating that THORChain was likely exploited across Bitcoin, Ethereum, BSC, and Base, with losses exceeding $10 million, according to wublockchain.xyz. The protocol responded by pausing trading and executing a global emergency halt across the network.
Security researchers corroborated the multi-chain nature of the incident, with The Block reporting that THORChain paused trading after flagging the suspected $10 million exploit affecting Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Base. Following the halt, the RUNE token plunged double digits, a move detailed by Decrypt, which tied the drop directly to the exploit and subsequent trading suspension.
Not all figures in circulation match exactly. CryptoPotato reported RUNE falling by 15% after the hack, citing ZachXBT's alert, while other accounts in the cluster describe the exploit total as $7.4 million rather than the $10 million-plus figure ZachXBT cited. The discrepancy between the two loss estimates has not been reconciled in the material available.
The emergency halt appears to have been network-wide rather than limited to a single asset or bridge, though the exact mechanism of the exploit — whether it involved a smart contract vulnerability, a bridging flaw, or another vector — has not been specified across the reporting. Similarly, no source has yet detailed which addresses or contracts were drained, or whether funds have moved since the halt was imposed.
What remains unresolved is the final loss tally, given the gap between the $10 million-plus figure attributed to ZachXBT and the $7.4 million figure cited elsewhere, along with any timeline for resuming trading once the halt is lifted. Confirmation from THORChain's own postmortem, along with on-chain tracing of the exploited funds across the four affected chains, would clarify the scope of the incident.