The Web3 infrastructure platform, Ankr, faced a massive exploit earlier today, and the hacker reportedly exploited the platform for millions of dollars. According to early details, the hacker is reported to have minted 10 trillion Ankr Reward Bearing Staked BNB (aBNBc).

aBNBc is a reward token for BNB available on the Ankr protocol. Furthermore, BSCScan details show that Ankr exploded transferred 900 BNB coins to Tornado Cash.

Previously, the BNB chain had launched the liquid staking feature via Ankr. This allowed users to earn interest by allocating BNB tokens to the liquid staking deal while earning aBNBc. After the exploit, the price of aBNBc has plunged by a staggering 99.5%.

Or a vulnerability in the smart contract or a compromise in the private keys could be the reason behind the exploit. Citing data from DeBank, crypto journalist Colin Wu reports:

0x8d… took advantage of the Ankr loophole, used 10 BNB to exchange 183,384.92 aBNBc, and then converted to hBNB and staked it on Helio Protocol to lend over $16 million BHAY0 and exchanged it for HAY0. The HAY stablecoin once dropped to $0.2.

Ankr confirms the exploit

In its latest tweet, the Web3 infrastructure platform Ankr admitted to the exploit. It’s indicated:

Our aBNB token has been mined and we are currently working with exchanges to immediately stop trading. All underlying assets in Ankr Staking are safe at this time and all infrastructure services are not affected.

This year has seen a spate of massive crypto exploits with billions of dollars of investor funds lost. These exploits have been quite prominent in the decentralized finance (DeFi) market.

In October, $100 million worth of Binance Coins were stolen in a cross-bridge attack connecting the BNB Beacon Chain (BEP2) and the BNB Chain (BEP20 or BSC). In the same month, Mango Markets, the Solana-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, became the victim of an attack and lost $100 million of its DeFi protocol.

Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and has a good knack for understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draws his attention to the new emerging markets of Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. He is continuously in a learning process and stays motivated by sharing the knowledge he has acquired. In his spare time, he reads thrillers and sometimes explores his culinary skills.

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