Verus-Ethereum Bridge Loses 11.58 Million Dollars in the Latest DeFi Exploit of May

[mendez]

The Verus-Ethereum Bridge has reportedly suffered a significant security breach, with attackers draining approximately $11.58 million in digital assets in the latest blow to DeFi security in May. Blockchain security firms Blockaid and PeckShield both flagged the exploit, with PeckShield identifying that the attacker drained roughly 103.6 tBTC, 1,625 ETH, and 147,000 USDC from the bridge before swapping the stolen assets into approximately 5,402 ETH valued at around $11.4 million. The funds remained sitting in a single identified wallet address at the time of reporting, and PeckShield noted that the attacker's address was initially funded with 1 ETH through Tornado Cash approximately 14 hours before the exploit was carried out, a common pattern used to obscure the origin of funds before an attack.

The breach arrives just three days after THORChain halted trading following its own security incident, in which a vault breach drained over $10 million in protocol-owned funds. THORChain stated that user balances were not affected and that contributors are actively investigating alongside external security partners. The back-to-back incidents highlight a persistent vulnerability across bridge and cross-chain infrastructure, which continues to be one of the most heavily targeted areas in DeFi. Bridges by their nature manage large pools of assets locked across multiple chains, making them attractive targets for attackers who can exploit gaps in how those assets are verified and transferred between networks.

[nihalsari]

Back-to-back THORChain and Verus incidents confirming bridge infrastructure is experiencing coordinated attention not coincidental simultaneous targeting

[nihalsari]

$11.58M sitting in identified wallet, someone is watching it