Alex Protocol, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform operating on the Bitcoin-centric Stacks blockchain, has pledged to fully reimburse users affected by an $8.3 million exploit that occurred on June 6. The incident, which saw attackers drain significant liquidity from various asset pools, marks one of the largest exploits to date within the Stacks ecosystem.
According to an announcement made by Alex Protocol on X (formerly Twitter), the breach was attributed to a vulnerability within its self-listing verification logic. The attackers successfully siphoned approximately 8.4 million Stacks (STX) tokens, 21.85 Stacks Bitcoin (sBTC), 149,850 in USDC and USDt, and 2.8 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC).
In response to the exploit, the Alex Lab Foundation, the organization supporting the protocol, confirmed its commitment to compensating all affected users using its treasury reserves. Reimbursement will be issued in USDC tokens, with calculations based on the average on-chain exchange rates between 10:00 AM UTC and 2:00 PM UTC on the day of the attack.
Affected wallets are expected to receive an on-chain notification by June 8, which will include a personalized claim form. Users are required to complete and submit this form with a receiving wallet address by June 10. The Alex Lab team stated that they will verify submitted claims and distribute USDC payments within seven days thereafter. Users who do not receive a form but believe they were affected are advised to contact the team via email.
While the technical mechanisms of the exploit have not yet been fully disclosed, Alex Lab is expected to release a post-mortem report detailing the incident.
This recent security breach is not the first for Alex Protocol. In May 2024, the platform experienced another significant exploit involving its cross-chain bridge infrastructure, resulting in the unauthorized withdrawal of $4.3 million in crypto. At the time, the DeFi protocol suggested a potential link between the May exploit and the North Korean cybercrime group Lazarus, citing collaborative efforts with blockchain analyst ZachXBT to trace the stolen assets.
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