OTHER

ZetaChain Suspends Transfers After $300K Loss News from DefiLlama

Bradley Bosch

In light of an attack targeting its GatewayEVM contract, ZetaChain has suspended cross-chain transactions on its mainnet.

Summary

  • ZetaChain has paused cross-chain transactions following an identified attack on its GatewayEVM smart contract.
  • The team has assured that only internal wallets were compromised, ensuring that user funds remain secure.
  • DefiLlama estimates potential losses to be about $300,000 as ZetaChain undertakes a thorough post-incident assessment.

The Layer 1 network indicated that this suspension is a precautionary measure during the ongoing investigation. GatewayEVM is an essential bridge that supports cross-chain interactions among EVM-compatible networks and applications on ZetaChain, thus improving connectivity among linked chains.

ZetaChain confirmed that the attack was aimed at internal team wallets and that measures have been implemented to patch the vulnerability to avert any further losses.

“To ensure security, cross-chain transactions are temporarily halted on ZetaChain,” stated the team. “The investigation is ongoing, and no user funds have been impacted by this incident thus far.”

DefiLlama projects losses at $300,000

DefiLlama reported that the attack led to estimated losses nearing $300,000. Although ZetaChain has yet to confirm this figure, they intend to publish a detailed post-mortem report shortly.

ZetaChain’s official status page disclosed that cross-chain transactions were halted at 9:00 p.m. ET on Monday, approximately nine hours after the attack was first detected.

Persistent issues surrounding DeFi security

ZetaChain launched its mainnet in early 2024 with a focus on blockchain interoperability, seeking to act as a universal blockchain connecting networks like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Polygon.

This incident underscores a troubling trend of security breaches within the DeFi sector. The LayerZero-powered Kelp DAO bridge exploit resulted in a loss of $292 million, incurring substantial debt on Aave. Since that occurrence, DefiLlama has documented at least ten attacks targeting various DeFi projects.