While the Ankr protocol, based on the BNB chain, was exploited and the hacker sold BNB bounty tokens (aBNBc), a trader took advantage of price discrepancies to turn $2,879 into $15.5 million.
As Cointelegraph previously reported, Security firm Beosin suggested that the multi-billion dollar exploit may stem from vulnerabilities in the smart contract code and private keys compromised due to a technical update.. So, the hacker minted and sold 20 billion aBNBc tokens, significantly lowering the price of aBNBc.
When this occurred, one trader was quick to react and seize the opportunity. Reviewing on-chain data, analytics platform Lookonchain recently shared how a trader allegedly managed to make $15.5 million by breaking through the Helio Protocol platform. According to Lookonchain, the trader bought 183,885 aBNBc with just 10 Binance Coin (BNB) after the Ankr exploiter dumped aBNBc.
After that, the trader deposited the aBNBc into the Helio Protocol and used the funds as collateral to borrow 16 million Helio Protocol (HAY) tokens. In the end, the trader exchanged HAY for $15.5 million of Binance USD (BUSD), earning a profit of 5,209 times his original principal.
Aside from the losses suffered by the trade, the exploit may have also affected the total value locked (TVL) of the Helio platform. Before the attack, the HAY stablecoin had about $87 million in TVL. However, at the time of writing this article, decentralized finance (DeFi) data tracker DeFiLlama shows that HAY now has 0 TVL.
In an announcement to its community, the Helio Protocol assured users that their assets are safe and that all their staked BNB is within the validators. Currently, the protocol suspended all its functions and asked the HAY holders to refrain from carrying out any transaction.
After recently asking decentralized exchanges (DEXs) to halt transactions, the Ankr protocol has mentioned that it will reissue tokens to BNBc. The platform promised that it will assess the situation and compensate the affected users.
Other details:
We have been in touch with the DEXes and told them to block trading. We will reissue tokens in the future after we assess the situation.—Ankr (@ankr) December 2, 2022
Additional details:
We have been in contact with the DEXs and told them to block trading. We will reissue tokens in the future after evaluating the situation.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency exchange Binance halted Ankr token withdrawals and froze $3 million in assets that the hacker moved to the trading platform.
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