THORChain Faces Suspected Attacks Across Multiple Chains Including Bitcoin, Ethereum, BSC, and Base, Total Loss Exceeds $7.4 Million
THORChain has experienced suspected attacks across multiple chains including Bitcoin, Ethereum, BSC, and Base, with total losses exceeding $7.4 million.
On-chain detective ZachXBT was the first to disclose this cross-chain vulnerability incident.
In market mechanisms, DeFi liquidity and providers are accelerating withdrawals from high-risk cross-chain protocols, with funds rapidly flowing out of THORChain liquidity pools to safer cross-chain bridges and DEXs. This incident has driven capital to seek short-term safety, putting pressure on THORChain's TVL and RUNE token.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
THORChain has previously faced security risks due to its cross-chain routing mechanism. This simultaneous multi-chain attack continues its historical vulnerability path, similar to earlier incidents involving the RUNE pool, stemming from miscalculations in balancing verification layers and smart contract complexity in pursuit of fully permissionless cross-chain solutions.
In terms of capital flow, attackers exploited the THORChain cross-chain AMM routing vulnerability to transfer assets. The team needs to urgently freeze part of the pools and deploy fixes, shifting resources from liquidity mining incentives to security audits, insurance funds, and code restructuring, with the motivation to quickly restore trust and prevent a chain reaction of withdrawals.
Similar cases include multiple cross-chain bridge hacks from 2022 to 2024 (Ronin, Wormhole, Nomad, etc.). The current cross-chain DeFi sector is transitioning from high-yield permissionless designs to enhanced audits and insurance coverage controls.
Essentially, this represents a technological substitution: complex permissionless cross-chain routing is being replaced by more conservative secure cross-chain infrastructure. The root mechanism is the uncompromising demand for verification redundancy when transferring high-value assets across multiple chains. Only by strengthening multi-signatures, time locks, and monitoring layers can the amplification effect of single-point attacks be reduced, achieving a structural shift from high-risk high-yield to sustainable cross-chain liquidity.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
The less friction in cross-chain, the broader the attack surface.
High yields have never been free; they merely defer the risk to the next vulnerability.
When multiple chains bleed simultaneously, liquidity remains only in places that can withstand practical audits.