Hackers steal $31.6M with 2 crypto bridge attacks within 7 hours

AFX, a decentralized perpetual exchange operating on Arbitrum, reportedly lost $24.15 million on Wednesday, while the Verus Ethereum bridge was attacked hours later.

Hackers stole more than $31.6 million across two unrelated crypto bridge exploits spaced just hours apart, targeting bridges operated by decentralized perpetual exchange AFX and Verus Protocol. 

According to Blockaid, AFX, a decentralized perpetual exchange operating on Arbitrum, reportedly lost $24.15 million on Wednesday through a hack targeting one of its crosschain bridges. Hours later, Blockaid said it detected an exploit targeting the Verus Ethereum Bridge that resulted in about $7.5 million in crypto being stolen. 

The back-to-back exploits highlight the continued security risks facing crosschain bridges, which hold large pools of assets and move funds between separate blockchains. 

Read more