Ethereum Layer-2 ZKsync Suffers Exploit As $5,000,000 in ZK Tokens Drained

Ethereum (ETH) Layer-2 scaling solution ZKsync (ZK) has suffered a significant exploit, resulting in the loss of $5 million worth of ZK tokens.

The breach, which targeted the platform’s smart contract infrastructure, has been acknowledged by the protocol through a post to the social media platform X.

“ZKsync security team has identified a compromised admin account that took control of ~$5M worth of ZK tokens – the remaining unclaimed tokens from the ZKsync airdrop. Necessary security measures are being taken.

All user funds are safe and have never been at risk. The ZKsync protocol and ZK token contract remained secure, and no further ZK is at risk.

This is an isolated incident caused by a compromised key and confined to the ZK Token airdrop contract.

The investigation is ongoing, and a detailed update will be shared later today.”

The attack, reportedly executed through a sophisticated vulnerability in ZKsync’s zero-knowledge proof mechanism, allowed the perpetrator to drain funds from multiple wallets. Blockchain security firms are investigating the incident.

Last month, prominent blockchain investigator ZachXBT said that sweeping government regulations might be needed to prevent ever-evolving crypto hacks.

“This industry is unbelievably cooked when it comes to exploits/hacks and sadly idk if the industry is going to fix this itself unless the government forcibly passes regulations that hurt our entire industry.

Several ‘decentralized’ protocols have recently had nearly 100% of their monthly volume/fees derived from DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] and refuse to take any accountability.”

ZK is trading for $0.046 at time of writing, a 7.5% decrease on the day.

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