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Bitcoin DeFi Tool Alex Lab Loses $4.3 Million in Hack, Offers 10% Bounty for Stolen Funds
Bitcoin DeFi application ALEX Lab was drained of over $4.3 million in various tokens late Wednesday after a suspected private key compromise attacked its bridge service.
Security researchers CertiK said The attackers likely obtained a private key that controlled ALEX’s XLink bridge, a service that allows users to transfer tokens between different blockchains. The hacker transferred over $300,000 worth of bitcoin (BTC)$3.3 million in stablecoins and $75,000 in Sugar Kingdom (SKO) tokens.
The developers of ALEX have confirmed the hack an X post in the early European hours, claiming to know the identity of the attacker. The team offered them a 10% reward for returning 90% of the stolen funds.
“ALEX Lab Foundation has identified the individual responsible for the recent security breach and is offering a fix through a reward agreement,” the developers said. “ALEX ensures that once complied with, there will be no further prosecution or law enforcement involvement. This offer is valid until May 18th at 08:00 UTC.
Funds associated with the hacker have been frozen by major exchanges to prevent further abuse, the team said.
Private key compromises are among the most common attack vectors for hackers. Some of the biggest crypto hackssuch as Ronin’s $650 million drain in 2022 and Harmony’s $100 million hack in the same year, were the result of poor private key security.