Another DeFi protocol falls victim to a smart contract exploit. This time it’s Nexera.
The trending cryptocurrency news today is a sad tale. Nexera, a platform trying to bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto, has been hit hard. Hackers stole $1.5 million worth of digital assets. This isn’t just another number; it’s real money, real people’s investments, gone in the blink of an eye.
According to an Aug. 7 post by Cyvers, a suspicious transaction was detected involving a proxy contract. Unauthorized actors gained control of the contract, enabling them to execute the withdraw admin function and drain the protocol of its NXRA holdings.
While the $1.5 million loss is substantial, it pales in comparison to the recent $9.8 million exploit on Ronin Network, which was ultimately resolved with the return of funds.
Read more: MetaLend Launches Cross-Chain Cryptocurrency Trading on Ronin Network
However, the Nexera attacker appears to be more determined. They have already started selling the stolen NXRA tokens for Ether and bridging some funds to the BNB chain, according to Cyvers.
Cybersecurity experts warn that the stolen funds are likely to be laundered through cryptocurrency mixers like Tornado Cash, making it difficult to trace the stolen assets. Moreover, the attacker behind the Nexera exploit appears to be a seasoned criminal with a history of targeting DeFi protocols.
Investigator ZachXBT has linked the attacker’s addresses to previous incidents involving SpaceCatch, Concentric Finance, OKX DEX, Serenity Shield, and Reach, among others.
“Attacker is connected on-chain to recent private key compromise incidents such as SpaceCatch, Concentric Finance, OKX DEX, Serenity Shield, Reach, and many more.”
