Tag: Loss

Rogue Validator Outsmarts MEV Bots, Resulting in a $25 Million Loss

by Blockchain News

In a recent incident, MEV bots attempting sandwich trades suffered a massive loss of $25 million in digital assets due to a rogue validator. The bots were trying to execute sandwich transactions, which involves intercepting a trader’s transaction to profit from it. However, as the bots began to swap millions, the reverse transactions were replaced by a validator who went rogue, resulting in significant losses.

The losses included $1.8 million in Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), $5.2 million in USD Coin (USDC), $3 million in Tether (USDT), $1.7 million in Dai (DAI), and $13.5 million in Wrapped Ether (WETH). At the time of writing, most of the funds had been transferred to three different wallets.

In a Twitter thread, blockchain security firm CertiK explained that the vulnerability was due to the centralization of power with validators. As the MEV bots tried to perform front-run and back-run transactions for profit, the rogue validator swooped in to back-run the MEV’s transaction, resulting in significant losses.

The attack highlights the risks associated with MEV bots, despite their potential to earn vast amounts of digital assets. MEV bots have become increasingly popular in the crypto market, as they can execute complex trading strategies with speed and accuracy. However, they are also vulnerable to hacks and exploits, as seen in previous incidents.

CertiK warned that this attack could affect other MEV searchers conducting strategies such as sandwich trading. The team noted that there is a possibility that MEV searchers may become wary of non-atomical strategies due to this exploit.

The CertiK team emphasized the need for greater decentralization to reduce the vulnerability of validators to such attacks. This incident underscores the importance of blockchain security and the need for continuous monitoring and upgrading of security protocols to prevent such incidents.

In conclusion, the attack on MEV bots attempting sandwich trades by a rogue validator resulted in significant losses of $25 million worth of digital assets. The vulnerability was due to the centralization of power with validators, highlighting the need for greater decentralization to reduce the risks associated with such attacks. This incident underscores the importance of blockchain security and the need for continuous monitoring and upgrading of security protocols to prevent such incidents.

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Blockchain enthusiast allegedly losses $500k by sending WETH to contract address

by Cointelegraph

In a now-deleted deleted profile, an anonymous Reddit user allegedly lost close to $500k on Sunday after sending wrapped Ether (wETH) directly into a wETH wrapping smart contract. wETH came into existence as a way for Ether (ETH) to conform to the ERC-20 token standard so that it can be traded directly with altcoins minted on the Ethereum blockchain.

To wrap Ether, users first send ETH to the wETH smart contract address and receive an equivalent token in return. However, to unwrap wETH, users must either swap for ETH on a decentralized exchange like Uniswap (UNI), or call the withdrawal function in the wETH smart contract. Instead, the anonymous Reddit user sent the wETH directly back into the wETH smart contract address in the hopes of receiving ETH back. Unfortunately for the use, this process is the equivalent of “token burning,” resulting in a irreversible loss of the trader’s crypto.

While the user’s identity is no longer available on Reddit, the transaction still appears on Etherscan, showing that 195.2 wETH ($501,358) was sent to the wETH smart at the time of publication contract and therefore lost forever. Most Reddit members were sympathetic with the trader, with u/0150r writing:

“Losing a half-million dollars worth of crypto by mistake is something that needs to be addressed before crypto can become mainstream. When it’s this easy to lose everything, there’s no way your grandma is going to be using it.”

However, others pointed out that the original poster should have done far more to research the technology before using it, with u/jadecrystal writing:

“No, you don’t need to design the technology, but if you don’t have a basic grasp of … a microwave oven, a car’s starter, engine, and steering column… or public key crypto and blockchain addresses, this is what happens.”