Cork Protocol Halts Contracts After $12M Exploit

Cork Protocol, a decentralized finance platform, was exploited for around $12 million in wrapped staked ETH (wstETH) on Wednesday. A malicious contract was used by the attacker to withdraw approximately 3,761.87 wstETH, according to security experts from Cyvers. So far, the stolen funds have only been exchanged for ETH and have not been distributed across numerous wallets. Founder Phil Fogel acknowledged the incident and stated the team is investigating the cause. "We are pausing all contracts on Cork Protocol," Fogel shared on X. Cork Protocol, which launched in March, introduced a novel DeFi concept of trading depeg risks. In September 2024, it received investments from a16z Crypto, OrangeDAO, and Steakhouse Financial, joining a16z Crypto's CSX Fall cohort. Disclaimer: The Block, an independent media outlet, delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is the majority investor in The Block. This article is for informational purposes only and not intended as advice.