Originally published on: October 05, 2024
Recently, the Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer faced a challenging situation when almost $6 million in tokens were stolen from an investor. However, EigenLayer swiftly addressed the issue and reassured its community that the protocol remains secure with no vulnerabilities.
The incident, which occurred on Oct. 4, involved an unauthorized selling activity linked to a specific wallet ending in “f10D.” This wallet sold approximately 1.6 million EIGEN tokens, valued at around $5.7 million. Upon discovering this, EigenLayer initiated an investigation, leading Etherscan to mark the wallet address under scrutiny.
Subsequently, EigenLayer disclosed that the unauthorized token selling was a result of a hack. The malicious attacker exploited an email thread associated with an investor’s token transfer, enabling the unauthorized transfer of 1.6 million tokens. Despite this unfortunate event, EigenLayer promptly informed the appropriate platforms and authorities, freezing a portion of the stolen funds in the process.
Assuring its community, EigenLayer emphasized that the hack was an isolated incident and did not impact the broader ecosystem. The team confirmed that the compromise was not tied to any on-chain functionality and stated there were no identified vulnerabilities in the protocol or token contracts.
Moreover, EigenLayer pledged to continue its investigation, promising to update the community as soon as more information becomes available.
Before the incident, EigenLayer’s Total Value Locked (TVL) had reached an impressive $12.9 billion, reflecting an 11% increase in just one week, as reported by IntoTheBlock.
Following the unlocking of the EIGEN token on Oct. 1, it initially traded at $3.85 on Binance, translating to a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of approximately $6.5 billion. As per CoinMarketCap data, this valuation positioned the token at the 94th spot by market capitalization.
Fast forward to Oct. 5, EIGEN is trading around $3.38, resulting in an FDV of $5.6 billion and ranking 99th in the overall crypto market capitalization listings.
In light of this recent event, EigenLayer’s proactive response highlights its commitment to security and transparency, further solidifying its position in the blockchain space.
