Recently, two major decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, Cetus and Alex Protocol, faced attacks resulting in significant financial losses.
Cetus Protocol Relaunches After $223 Million Hack
Cetus Protocol, operating on the Sui and Aptos blockchains, officially relaunched following a devastating $223 million exploit that occurred on May 22. The platform restored functionality and managed to replenish between 85% and 99% of user funds in affected liquidity pools. The attack exploited a vulnerability in a shared math library, which allowed the attacker to drain liquidity.
Alex Protocol Suffers $8.3 Million Exploit
Alex Protocol, a flagship DeFi platform on the Stacks blockchain, also fell victim to a significant exploit on June 6, leading to the loss of approximately $8.3 million in digital assets. The attack stemmed from a vulnerability in self-listing verification logic. Despite the scale of the breach, Alex Protocol promises full reimbursement to affected users from treasury reserves.
Learning Lessons for DeFi
The exploits of Cetus and Alex highlight the fragility of the DeFi ecosystem and the importance of continuous auditing and security improvements. Protocols need to focus on enhancing their internal security processes and transparency to rebuild user trust.
The incidents with Cetus and Alex Protocol serve as a clear reminder of the importance of reliable security in decentralized finance, and the lessons learned should be taken into account by all industry participants.
