Crypto token of key DeFi exchange Curve Finance sinks after exploit
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THE native token of one of crypto’s top decentralised exchanges tumbled after the platform said it had been “exploited” as a result of a vulnerability in a programming language.
Curve Finance, like other decentralised finance (DeFi) projects in crypto, relies on different kinds of software built on top of blockchain technology. A glitch in a particular version of Vyper – a programming language similar to Python and widely used in DeFi applications – led to the exploit, Curve tweeted on Sunday (Jul 30).
Curve Finance’s CRV token has shed about 15 per cent since the problem emerged and was trading at approximately 63 US cents as at 9.30 am in Singapore on Monday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
BlockSec, which provides security audit services for crypto software, estimated the hack had already led to more than US$40 million in losses. Tarun Chitra, chief executive officer and founder of crypto risk modelling firm Gauntlet, estimated the exploiter made away with about US$20 million of CRV and a version of Ether.
“We are assessing the situation and will update the community as things develop,” Curve said.
Curve Finance is the largest decentralised exchange after Uniswap, according to data provider and aggregator DeFiLlama. Curve’s founder Michael Egorov did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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CRV is used as collateral on a decentralised lending service known as Aave. Gauntlet’s Chitra said that so far there were no signs of “bad loans” on the Aave platform due to the slide in CRV. Aave’s token has declined about 4 per cent in the past 24 hours, CoinGecko figures show.
Digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ether wobbled a tad on concerns about wider potential knock-on effects but later stabilised. Bitcoin was little changed at about US$29,450, while Ether was steady at US$1,870.
Hackers pilfered a record US$3.8 billion worth of crypto in 2022 and Curve Finance was among the long list of organisations impacted.
!["The focus [among Telegram trading bots] is usually on low-market-cap coins, meme coins, and others with low volume," says Philipp Zentner, CEO at cross-chain liquidity routing firm Li.Fi.](https://d2kxlefydm4hr1.cloudfront.net/image/businesstimes/5425fb56e9084dfc1eadf66c126969e5ad956f928637171b8889eaf320a8dc1a?w=240&dpr=1&f=webp)
The pace of incidents has cooled but the risk of security breaches still clouds decentralised finance, where people rely on blockchain-based software known as smart contracts to undertake activities like trading or lending. BLOOMBERG
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