Orbit Bridge Hacker Attack: More than US$80 Million in Financial Losses

Orbit Bridge, the central element of the Orbit Chain protocol, was the victim of a devastating hacker attack. The incident, which occurred in the hours before the New Year celebration, resulted in an overwhelming financial loss and raised alarms throughout the sector.

The alarming nature of the breach was initially brought to light through social media posts by close observers like Kgjr and Officer CIA, as well as blockchain security firm Cyvers.

🚨ALERT📷Our AI-powered system detected a hack on Orbit Bridge ETH Vault, approximate loss of $81M!!
more information soon. pic.twitter.com/KqL2HASqrX

— 🚨 Cyvers Alerts 🚨 (@CyversAlerts) December 31, 2023

According to analyzes by Arkham Intelligence, a recognized blockchain analysis platform, hackers managed to steal around US$81.68 million through five separate transactions. These transactions included a variety of cryptocurrencies such as Tether, USD Coin, Ethereum, Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and the algorithmic stablecoin DAI. The stolen funds were transferred to new, previously unused wallets.

Founded in 2018 in South Korea, Orbit Chain has been a key player in the blockchain ecosystem, specializing in facilitating transfers between different decentralized networks. A notable feature is its interaction with the Klaytn network, a modular layer-1 blockchain where the Orbit Chain is used for asset transfers between EVM-compatible networks.

This connection turned out to be critical, as the Klaytn network’s block explorer showed that eight of the network’s largest assets, valued at full market value, are linked to the Orbit Bridge. It is important to highlight that, despite the similarity in names, Orbit Chain and Orbiter Finance are distinct entities.

This incident not only resulted in immediate financial losses for the parties involved, but also raised serious concerns about the security and reliability of similar protocols in the blockchain space.

At the time of publication, the price of Orbit Chain (ORC) was quoted at US$0.060771, down 14% in the last 24 hours.

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The views and opinions expressed by the author, or anyone mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptocurrencies carries a risk of financial loss.