DeltaPrime exploited for $4.8M worth of ARB and AVAX tokens

From theblock by MK Manoylov

The DeltaPrime protocol was exploited for $4.8 million worth of digital assets, adding to a growing number of crypto hacks in 2024, which may surpass the value stolen in 2023.

DeltaPrime, a  decentralized finance (DeFi)  liquidity protocol, was exploited for $4.8 million worth of Arbitrum  ARB$0.6712  and Avalanche  AVAX$37.01  tokens.

The hack, still under investigation, began when the exploiter contributed liquidity to the protocol, according to onchain intelligence firm PeckShield. In a Nov. 11 post on X, PeckShield said:

“DeltaPrime has been exploited for ~$4.8M worth of crypto on both #ARB & #AVAX.  The exploiter has added liquidity (~$1.3M) to LFJ (formerly Trader Joe) & farmed $USDC on Stargate.”

DeltaPrime exploit. Source: PeckShield

In response, the DeltaPrime team announced on Nov. 11 that it had paused the protocol on both the Arbitrum and Avalanche blockchains.

  Incident response. Source: DeltaPrime

The exploit adds to the growing concerns over security in the crypto industry. On Nov. 1,  centralized exchange  M2 was hacked for $13.7 million worth of digital assets,  Cointelegraph reported .

Related:  Telegram bot Banana Gun’s users drained of over $1.9M

Will 2024 crypto hacks top 2023?

In a concerning sign for the Web3 industry, crypto  hackers stole over $753 million  across 155 incidents during the third quarter of 2024, as the total stolen value surged by about 9.5%.

In 2024 to date, hackers have stolen nearly $2 billion. This means that  crypto hacks this year could potentially top  2023, with the first quarter of 2024 seeing $542.7 million worth of stolen funds, a 42% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

Still, smart contracts are no longer to blame for most exploits, according to Mriganka Pattnaik, co-founder and CEO of crypto risk and intelligence platform Merkle Science, who told Cointelegraph:

“While smart contract vulnerabilities remain a concern, hackers increasingly target areas outside smart contracts, like private key leaks. These leaks, often due to phishing attacks or insecure storage practices, have led to significant losses.”

Related:  Chinese trader laundered more than $17M for Lazarus Group in 25 hacks

In May, a  trader lost $71 million worth of crypto  in the year’s most high-profile phishing attack. The attacker tricked the trader into sending 99% of their funds to the attacker’s address.

DeltaPrime’s current incident occurred four months after a hacker  stole over $230 million from WazirX , an Indian cryptocurrency exchange, in the second-largest cryptocurrency hack of 2024.