Orbit Bridge Faces Unusual Outflows of $81.5 Million in Suspected Hack

• The Orbit exploit involves five transactions draining substantial amounts of stablecoins, wrapped Bitcoin, and Ethereum to distinct wallets.
• Officer CIA also suggests that the attacker compromised multi-signature signers, initiating the attack with funds from TornadoCash.

Although the cryptocurrency markets have progressed significantly bridge attacks and hacks continue to plague the market due to bad players.

In a concerning development, Orbit Bridge, a prominent cross-chain bridge protocol, has experienced a notable outflow of $81.5 million across various cryptocurrencies, signaling a potential major hack. On December 31st, an anonymous Twitter user sounded the alarm about a potential exploit, highlighting substantial outflows from the Orbit Chain Bridge protocol. This concern gained traction as blockchain investigator Officer CIA and cybersecurity firm Cyvers also verified the hack.

Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain analytics platform, subsequently reported that the hackers had successfully drained a remarkable $81.68 million in illicit gains.

The breach unfolded through five separate transactions, each directed to distinct wallets. The unauthorized movements included $50 million in stablecoins (comprising 30 million Tether, 10 million DAI, and 10 million USDC), 231 wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) valued at approximately $10 million, and 9,500 Ethereum, amounting to around $21.5 million. The initial detection of the hack was credited to a user known as Kgjr.

It is noteworthy that the Orbit Bridge protocol appears to have significant affiliations with the Klaytn ecosystem. Data from Klaytn’s explorer reveals that nine out of the top ten tokens on the network, based on circulating market cap, have links with Orbit Bridge as wrapped assets.

The incident further raises concerns about thesecurity and integrity of cross-chain protocols and their interconnected ecosystems. Investigations into the hack are likely underway, with stakeholders closely monitoring the situation for further developments.

Orbit Attacker Receives Funds from Tornado Cash

Officer CIA, a prominent figure in blockchain investigations, suggests that the attacker likely compromised 7 out of 10 multi-signature signers in a recent security breach of the Orbit Chain Bridge protocol. The exploit began with an initial funding of 10 Ethereum (ETH) from TornadoCash, a well-known currency mixing service popular among hackers.

The orchestrated attack unfolded through five separate transactions, resulting in the movement of $30 million in Tether (USDT), $10 million in USD Coin (USDC), $21.7 million in Ether (ETH), $9.8 million in Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and $10 million worth of the algorithmic stablecoin DAI to new wallets.

Notably, Orbit Chain’s protocol is intricate links to the Klaytn network (KLAY), a modular layer-1 blockchain. The block explorer data from Klaytn further indicates that eight of the most valuable assets on its network, based on total market capitalization, are wrapped assets on the Orbit Bridge.

In response to the recent security exploit, Orbit Bridge has initiated a compensation distribution process for all affected users. The platform also urges users to promptly review approvals on their dashboards. All users of Orbit are eligible for compensation, emphasizing the project’s commitment to addressing the aftermath of the breach and mitigating the impact on its community.

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