Tag: KelpDAO

  • Crypto Market Update: Bitcoin ETF Inflows Hit $191M, KelpDAO Sues LayerZero, Bitget Faces $350M Exploit

    Crypto Market Update: Bitcoin ETF Inflows Hit $191M, KelpDAO Sues LayerZero, Bitget Faces $350M Exploit

    The crypto market delivered several headline-making moves on September 25, from strong institutional demand for Bitcoin ETFs to legal action against LayerZero and a major exchange exploit. Here is a closer look at the day’s most important stories.

    Bitcoin ETF Inflows Reach $191 Million

    Spot Bitcoin ETFs posted $191 million in cumulative daily net inflows, according to SoSoValue. BlackRock’s IBIT led the pack with $163 million in single-day net inflows, lifting its all-time net inflow total to $65.18 billion. Fidelity’s FBTC added $12.86 million, bringing its historical total to $11.01 billion. On the other end, WisdomTree’s BTCW saw the largest daily net outflow at $4.016 million.

    Combined, spot Bitcoin ETFs now hold about $108.91 billion in total net assets, representing a 6.43% ETF net asset ratio. Cumulative historical net inflows for the category stand at $57.41 billion.

    KelpDAO Takes LayerZero to Court

    KelpDAO has filed a lawsuit against LayerZero and co-founder Bryan Pellegrino following the April attack that drained 116,500 rsETH worth approximately $292 million from the liquid staking protocol. The incident, which occurred on April 22, has been tied by researchers to a North Korean hacking group. In its complaint, KelpDAO alleges that LayerZero failed to disclose security weaknesses and risks in its technology, and that it did not prevent attackers from compromising its security infrastructure. The lawsuit also claims that LayerZero and Pellegrino shifted blame to KelpDAO rather than accepting responsibility. These allegations remain subject to litigation.

    Bitget Loses $350 Million in Hot Wallet Exploit

    Crypto exchange Bitget has confirmed an exploit that drained at least $350 million from its hot wallets. CEO Gracy Chen said unauthorized transfers were detected across multiple blockchain networks after assets including ETH, USDT, USDC, AVAX and BNB were moved to an unidentified address. On-chain analysts saw rapid swaps on decentralized exchanges such as UniswapX and 1inch Fusion, with some trades executed at premiums of up to 5% above market prices. Chen said cold wallets are completely intact and that user losses are covered by the Bitget Protection Fund, which has a balance of more than $464 million.

    Hyperliquid Strategies Adds $45.8M in HYPE

    Hyperliquid Strategies has purchased another 494,200 HYPE worth roughly $45.8 million, according to Lookonchain. The buying activity, linked to wallet 0x6436, took place over a 16-hour period on September 25. With the latest purchase, the address has accumulated 5.51 million HYPE worth approximately $476 million over the past month, averaging 183,574 HYPE or $15.86 million per day. Hyperliquid Strategies now holds about 35.1 million HYPE, valued at roughly $3.2 billion.

    Shielded Bitcoin: A New Privacy Proposal

    Researchers from Alloc Init have published a September 24 paper proposing private Bitcoin transfers using zero-knowledge proofs without requiring a soft fork. The metaprotocol, called Shielded Bitcoin, would use Bitcoin to publish and order encrypted transaction data while Bitcoin nodes would not need to enforce the privacy rules. The design draws on concepts from Zcash, including encrypted notes, nullifiers and zero-knowledge proofs. It would conceal shielded senders, receivers, amounts and transaction links while leaving Bitcoin’s existing consensus rules unchanged.

    These developments highlight how quickly institutional flows, security incidents, legal disputes, and protocol research can shift the crypto landscape in a single day.

  • Crypto Hack Losses Exceed $1 Billion in First Half of 2026 as North Korean Groups Lead Attacks

    Crypto Hack Losses Exceed $1 Billion in First Half of 2026 as North Korean Groups Lead Attacks

    Cryptocurrency projects lost over $1 billion across 212 separate hacks during the first half of 2026, according to a new report from blockchain security firm Blockaid. The firm described the period as the most-hacked half-year on record by incident count, verifying 3.4 times as many high-threshold exploits over six months as it did throughout all of 2025. However, total losses remained below the previous year’s figure.

    A $1.5 billion attack on Bybit pushed 2025 losses to $2.58 billion across 63 incidents. In contrast, 2026 produced more frequent attacks but smaller average thefts.

    North Korea-Linked Hackers Take Nearly $600 Million

    North Korea-linked hackers accounted for almost $600 million in stolen funds. Blockaid tied two major April attacks to those groups. The Drift Protocol exploit caused $285 million in losses, while the KelpDAO attack removed $292 million. Together, they represented more than half of the half-year total.

    Attackers drained Drift in about 12 minutes after compromising multisig signers. Blockaid linked that breach pattern to LinkedIn social engineering aimed at key holders. The report said the same method produced two of the four largest incidents and found no structural reason for attackers to stop using it.

    Ethereum and Solana Lead Network Losses

    Ethereum projects lost $332 million, while Solana projects lost $326 million. Those figures placed both networks ahead of every other blockchain in total losses. Code exploits caused most Ethereum incidents. Blockaid said attackers targeted Ethereum because it hosts high-value restaking platforms, stablecoins, and decentralized exchanges.

    Solana’s losses rose sharply from about $127 million in 2025. Key breaches and signing infrastructure failures caused more than 98% of its losses.

    AI Agents Create a New Security Threat

    Blockaid expects more AI agent exploits during the second half of 2026. The firm identified a $216,000 Bankr incident as the first exploit of its kind. AI agent deployment is expanding about tenfold each year, according to the report. Blockaid expects prompt injection to lead attack methods, followed by abuse of connected tools.

    Can security controls keep pace as attack frequency rises and AI agents spread? Recovery efforts at Drift and KelpDAO show the operational burden after major breaches. Drift proposed a recovery pool with exchange revenue and support from partners, including Tether. The plan includes up to $127.5 million and requires audits, dedicated signing devices, and a redesigned multisig.

    KelpDAO completed the operational phase of its recovery plan on May 25. It resumed minting and redemptions, while litigation over frozen funds continued. Meanwhile, a wallet tied to the Drift exploiter moved 23,095.1 Ether into Tornado Cash between July 23 and July 24. The transfer carried an estimated value of $44.4 million. The report now points to AI agents, signer security, and prompt injection as key risks for the second half.