- Orbit Bridge saw losses worth $81.5 million in stablecoins and cryptos.
- The Orbit Chain team has announced compensation for users.
On New Year’s Eve, there were tears instead of cheers for users of the cross-chain protocol Orbit bridge, which became yet another victim of crypto exploits.
Orbit Chain gets robbed
A preliminary investigation by blockchain security company PeckShield Inc. revealed losses worth $81.5 million in stablecoins and cryptocurrencies in five separate trades.
Stablecoin losses totaled $50 million, including $30 million in Tether [USDT]$10 million in USD coins [USDC]and $10 million to DAI.
About $10 million worth of wrapped Bitcoin [wBTC] was lost while 9,500 Ethereum [ETH]equating to $21.5 million at the prevailing market price, was drained from the cross-chain bridge.
Source: Peck Shield
The list of addresses where the money was moved was highlighted. Users were asked to proceed with caution.
Within five hours of detection, Orbit Chain admitted to “an unidentified access” to the cross-chain bridge on social platform X (formerly Twitter).
The team assured protocol users that they were actively seeking assistance from law enforcement agencies and that an investigation was underway to determine the cause.
Orbit Chain also announced a compensation distribution for users. Users were asked to complete a verification process and claim refunds based on their eligibility.
For the curious, the Orbit chain is a multi-asset blockchain that allows inter-chain transfers via the decentralized Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC).
The ordeal continues
The unfortunate event added a few more millions to the total money lost to blockchain hackers in 2023. According to popular Web3 security firm SlowMist, a total of 462 hacks resulted in an outflow of more than $2.4 billion throughout the year.
Source: Slow Mist
Although this was a significant figure in itself, a comparative study from previous years showed optimism. More than $9 billion was lost in 2021, while losses in 2022 amounted to $4.3 billion.
Typically, an increase in hacks has seemed to coincide with periods of interest in the crypto industry. On the contrary, bear markets leave relatively less room for criminals to target and make money from.